The Donor
by linlawless
Summary: Jason M. learns that before Jason Q. had the accident, he made some "donations" that may cause problems now. A little of everything ... some humor, some romance, some angst ... an ensemble piece with Liason at the center ...
1. Prologue

**A/N: Okay, I had this idea and it wouldn't let go. I am very nervous about it because it is very AU and somewhat complicated, so I hope I can keep track of all the threads (I am working off an outline for the first time ever). It also requires me to write some characters that either a) I never actually saw on GH; or b) have very identifiable dialogue styles that I'm not sure I can write adequately. **

**Anyway, here's what you need to know: First, throw out everything you know about relationships among characters. Then, note that the action is initially in a variety of locations around the U.S. and basically no one who lives in one place knows anyone who lives in another place, but most of the people who live in the same location have at least met all the other people who live in that location (there may be a few exceptions, but they should become clear in the story). Some of the family ties are similar to the show (Jason & the Quartermaines; the Webbers; Jax & Jerry), and some aren't (e.g., Carly isn't a Spencer – and, at this point, I don't even expect her to be a particularly important character). Some relationships have different histories, but hopefully those will become clear as we go. That said, please contact me if you have any questions. **

**As always, I don't own any of the characters (except the ones I may make up ...)**

**Here we go …**

Prologue (5 years ago)

**Los Angeles, California**

Jason Quartermaine paused to slide his sunglasses on as he stepped out of the small, non-descript office building into the glare of the December sunshine. This would be his last deposit until after the holidays, when he got back from visiting his family in Port Charles in a few weeks. The break would make a dent in his income – he would have trouble making both his car payment and the rent on his upscale apartment in the Hollywood Hills unless some of his family came through with some cash instead of yet another 300 designer reindeer sweater (which he would wear once to please them and then bury in his closet until he could give it to some charity or other).

"Jason?"

_Crap,_ he thought, stiffening. _What is she doing here? _Since he knew she would never let him get away with pretending he didn't hear her, he turned toward her voice. She had just exited a taxi and was looking at him curiously.

"Brenda? What are you doing here?"

"I was just going to ask you the same thing. I thought all the offices in this place were either gynecologists or infertility specialists… Oh my God, did you get that slut pregnant?"

Jason rolled his eyes. Brenda had hated Carly from the moment they met. He had tried explaining the benefits of having a girl like Carly around, but she just got mad and told him to grow up and find a real woman before Carly got pregnant and trapped him. It had been an ongoing disagreement for nearly three months before they finally agreed that Brenda would stop bugging him about it as long as he promised to be obsessive about birth control, to keep Carly completely away from her, and to never mention "that woman" to her again. He was glad, because Brenda was his friend and he knew she was only a pain in the ass because she cared about him. Frankly, he didn't want to be forced to choose between her and great, though meaningless, sex. He figured it was enough that they both knew that if she pushed hard enough, he would dump Carly, but he would be irritated about having to find another bed partner who would in all likelihood be cut from the same cloth anyway.

"No, Carly isn't pregnant and she isn't going to be. But why are you here? Are you okay?" He tried to change the subject, knowing even as he spoke that it was pointless. This was, after all, Brenda.

She waved off his concern with an elegant flick of her wrist. "I'm fine, of course, just a routine check-up. But if Carly isn't pregnant, why would you be here?" She looked at the discreet sign next to the door, started to read the office names aloud. "Gynecological Associates, Advanced Obstetrics and Gynecology…"

"Brenda, don't worry about it. It's no big deal."

She continued as if she hadn't heard him, "…Advanced Reproductive Affiliates, Cryogenic Fertility Service and Storage Facility …"

"Brenda," he tried again, even as he watched her eyes widen, knowing it was too late. "I don't have time for this, and you don't want to be late for your appointment."

"A sperm bank?! You're coming out of a _sperm bank_? Ewwww! Jason! Please tell me this is a joke. You somehow knew I would be here and decided to mess with my head, right? _Right?!_" she asked desperately, her voice rising with each syllable. At the look he gave her, she continued, nearly shouting now, "Oh, my god, Jason, _tell_ me you're not selling your sperm!"

"Shut up, Brenda," he said tightly, "Geez, why don't you take out an ad? I don't think they heard you back in New York."

"Oh, my god, you _are_ selling your sperm! Your parents would _kill_ you! Your grandfather would have a _stroke_. _Why_ would you do that? It's not like you need the money…" She paused to take a breath, caught his annoyed look, and glared at him. "You have plenty of money," she declared confidently.

"No, _my family _has plenty of money. And you know I want to make it on my own."

"So you're _selling_ your _sperm_. You have _got_ to be kidding me," she insisted. "Have you thought about what that means? There could be hundreds of little Jasons running around that you won't ever know!"

"I _seriously_ doubt that there'll be hundreds. Maybe tens," he tried to joke, but she just glared at him some more, so he continued, "Besides, some of it is used for medical research." He heard the defensive edge in his own voice and mentally cringed.

"Some of it? _Some of it_?! What about the rest of it? And just how much is there? How long have you been doing this? Oh, my God, I have got to get the thought of you, doing _that_, out of my head. Oh, god," she moaned again.

"The rest of it makes some lucky couple – or maybe even a few couples -- very happy. It's no big deal." There was that defensive tone again. He held up a hand before she could interrupt and continued, "Look, do we have to do this right this minute? I'd rather the entire city of LA didn't know my business."

She didn't stop, though, not that he'd really thought she would. She wouldn't be Brenda if she could stop once she was on a roll like this. "No big deal? _No big deal_?!" He absently noted her sudden penchant for repetition and emphasis, which indicated just how upset she was about this. "Jason, you have _got_ to be kidding me. This is a _very_ big deal. And you didn't answer me. _How long_?"

"Once a week for the past year, okay?" he snapped. "Now can we please drop this? Or at least table it until we aren't in the middle of a public street." He gave her his most intimidating frown, but because she knew him so well, knew he would never hurt her no matter how angry she made him, he was surprised when she actually backed down.

"Fine. I'll let it go for now, but _only_ because I'm going to be late as it is. But I _am_ coming by tonight and we _will_ discuss it then."

"It'll have to wait until after the holidays," he pointed out, a bit less heatedly. "My flight leaves in a few hours and I have to run home and pack." She started to insist, but he reminded her, "And don't you have to pack for Switzerland?" She was leaving early in the morning to spend the holidays skiing with her family.

"Fine," she said again, her voice quieter, but nevertheless still insistent. "But if you're thinking I'm gonna just cool off and drop this – forget it. We're talking about this the _minute_ you get back. In fact, I'm picking you up at the airport."

"Fine," he said tersely. Then, more gently, "Have a good trip. Merry Christmas."

Her expression softened slightly at that. "You, too," she whispered, and threw her arms around him briefly before turning and hurrying into the building.


	2. Chapter 1

_A/N: Thanks, as always, for all your reviews. Please bear with me for the first few chapters – there are a bunch of threads to this story that I have to set up, with several characters and situations I have to establish before we can get to the Liason stuff. I promise I'll get there as soon as I can …_

_The usual disclaimer applies: I don't own the characters, except the ones I may invent._

Chapter 1 (Present day)

**West Palm Beach, Florida**

Samantha McCall watched the minutes tick by, using every ounce of her self-control to avoid looking at the pregnancy test.

It was making her crazy, but the only thing that would seem longer than staring at the clock would be staring at the test, willing it to be positive. This was her fifth attempt to get pregnant using an in vitro procedure, since the doctor had told her there was too much scarring in her fallopian tubes to make a natural pregnancy a realistic option. Out of her four previous attempts in the past year, she had actually conceived twice, but had miscarried both times. The subsequent delay each time before it was safe to try again had been nerve-wracking. What if he broke up with her before the next attempt?

Plus, they implanted four embryos each time, meaning that this attempt finished the last of the original twenty she had purchased. So if the procedure hadn't worked this time, she would have to buy more samples. She made a mental note to check the sperm bank's website to determine how many samples were still available. If she needed to find a new donor, she wanted to get moving on it right away.

It was getting both more important that she have a successful pregnancy, and more difficult to keep Jax in the dark about her efforts to make that happen. He had told her from the beginning of their relationship that he was not interested in marriage and that he definitely did not want kids. Sam, however, had other ideas. After all, it wasn't every day that a handsome multi-millionaire with a sexy Australian accent fell under her spell, and if she played it right, she would be set for life. So she had assured him that she knew the score, and was fine with a casual relationship plus hot sex for as long as they were both into it.

She had figured that she could con him into changing his mind about marrying her, because she had studied him for months before she "accidentally" met him at the Palm Beach country club. She had then proceeded to put to use what she had learned about him, and had turned herself into his idea of the perfect woman. She was smart enough to be able to converse with his business associates, but not so smart as to make them feel stupid by comparison. She was vivacious and bubbly, and never expected him to entertain her. She had a sixth sense about when he wanted her to challenge him in an intellectual discussion, and when it was time to gracefully concede that, of course, she hadn't thought of it like that, and he was probably right after all. She dressed in provocative clothing that was frankly too expensive to ever be called trashy. She was enthusiastic and adventurous in the bedroom. And, perhaps most importantly, every now and then, at unpredictable intervals, she would grow just a little bit distant, and not be as available as he was used to. When he would ask about it, she would say she just needed a little space to decide if their relationship was still working for her. And then she would let him talk her back into his bed.

She was certain he was _thisclose_ to proposing, when it all went wrong. Six months after that first "accidental" meeting, his brother Jerry had returned from a long stint out of the country. Unfortunately, Jerry was as conniving and manipulative as Sam was. He had taken one look at her and recognized a kindred spirit, which would have been fine if she had been trying to con anyone other than the one person on the planet that he actually loved. So he had immediately started to work Jax, hinting that maybe she wasn't who she seemed to be and maybe Jax should be careful. So far, Jax had laughed off Jerry's concern, pointing out that they were just "friends with benefits," not thinking they were in love or planning any kind of future. But Sam figured that eventually, Jerry's suspicions would win out over their casual bond, and Jax would show her the door.

Unless she took major action to prevent it.

And that's when Sam had realized that she would have to have Jax's baby. Never mind that she wasn't cut out to be a mother -- had never had any inclination to do so. The one thing she knew for certain was that the unbreakable bond of a child would ensure that Jerry could never cut her out of Jax's life – or his millions. She had immediately begun sabotaging their condoms, and had figured she would "accidentally" get pregnant quickly, but after more than six months of near-daily sex, she had realized the "accident" wasn't going to happen. So she had taken the next logical step, consulting a fertility clinic. She had told the doctor that she wasn't involved with anyone, and didn't see that changing anytime soon, but said she had always wanted to be a mother and just couldn't wait another minute. She figured this story would avoid any problem in case she somehow found the only doctor in Florida that cared about ethics.

The fertility clinic had helped her find an appropriate donor from a California clinic – one with the blond hair and blue eyes that she told them reminded her of her beloved fiancé, who had been killed in a car accident just days before their planned wedding. Of course, she had never actually been engaged, but they didn't know that, and it gave her a good excuse for limiting her potential donors to men who resembled Jax at least a little.

The first time she had conceived, she had been ecstatic. Fortunately, she had waited to tell Jax about the pregnancy because the doctor had advised that there was a high risk of miscarriage until she passed the first trimester. She knew if he had realized she was pregnant before she was past the danger point, she would never have been able to convince him that their birth control had failed a second time.

But the longer it took to do it, the harder it was to convince him that she needed yet another trip to the spa when it was time for another implantation. Worse yet, she feared that Jerry would get tired of waiting for Jax to come to his senses, and would put a detective on her, which would undoubtedly blow the whole scheme out of the water. Then she would have wasted almost two years on Jax, and would have to move somewhere new and start over with a new multi-millionaire. She had no intention of doing that, so she needed to be pregnant, and soon.

Sam continued to stare at the clock until it was finally time to read the test. She closed her eyes, took a deep breath, and held it for a moment. She opened her eyes, and exhaled a single word as she picked up the stick: "Please."

**Bloomington, Indiana**

Joanna Walker stared at the doctor as though she were speaking a foreign language. She turned to look at her husband, to see if he had heard the same thing she had. Mark looked at her, then turned back to Dr. Anderson and asked quietly, "So you're saying she needs a bone marrow transplant, or she'll …" He trailed off, unable to finish the thought.

"I'm saying her best chance of beating this is a bone marrow transplant. We can put her on the registry, but the chances of a match with someone unrelated are extremely slim. Therefore, it would be best to look among her blood relatives, preferably a sibling, or failing that, a parent or member of her extended family."

Joanna tuned out the rest of what the doctor was saying. She knew Mark would be listening intently, so he would be able to tell her later. She couldn't believe this was happening. Her beautiful little Isabella, just four years old, had leukemia that hadn't responded to first-line treatments. Tears welled in her eyes as she realized that she didn't even know who all of her daughter's blood relatives were, or whether she had any chance of finding out. And even if she did, she didn't know if they would care about a little girl they had never met, whose only connection to them was an anonymous donation of DNA five years ago.

But she had to try. She would do anything to save her beautiful little girl -- anything at all. So she and Mark and their two-year-old son Alex would be tested, and certainly her parents and her sister would, too. But in the meantime, she would start figuring out a way to track down the anonymous sperm donor who had given her miracle daughter to her in the first place.

**Seattle, Washington**

Elizabeth Webber Spencer stared at her phone, willing it to ring. She wondered where he was this time, and whether he would put any effort into soothing her irritation with him for being so late. He had to know she'd be worrying, especially since he had promised, _sworn_, that he would be home on time and would have dinner with her tonight no matter what. She had told him she had something important to talk with him about, had thought he understood how much this dinner meant to her. More than that, she had thought this would give them a chance to reconnect, to get their relationship back on the right track.

She sat on the couch, wondering how they had arrived at a place in their lives where he thought it was okay to leave her alone, pregnant, and worried, without even a phone call. Well, to be entirely fair (which she really didn't feel like being at the moment), he didn't actually know she was pregnant. She had planned to tell him tonight. _Although you'd think, _she thought disdainfully, _that he would guess on his own, considering that the timing of the "important conversation" was so soon after their second attempt at artificial insemination._

She wondered again where he could be, growing more irritated as the minute hand dragged its way around the clock face, nearing 10 pm. It had been his idea to try for a donor pregnancy in the first place, when the doctor had told them that Lucky was sterile. She had had her doubts about having a baby in general, and about using this approach in particular, at least right now. She didn't understand Lucky's rush to start a family right away, especially since they were barely making ends meet as it was. And they had only been married a little over a year, so she had been pretty surprised when he insisted that they see a fertility doctor when they didn't get pregnant during that year. _What's the rush anyway, _she couldn't help wondering.

Now, here she sat, three weeks before Christmas, alone on her couch, in her tiny apartment in the questionable part of town. It was currently lit only by the lights on the sad little Christmas tree in the corner, which was decorated with the bland, store-bought ornaments that Lucky insisted were nicer than the cheerful paper chains she would have preferred. She thought about her life, feeling lonely and trapped, listening to the faint sound of the typical December drizzle outside. When she finally heard his key in the lock, she wasn't sure if the sigh she released was born of relief or regret.

She squared her shoulders and noted the guilty expression on his face as she said sarcastically, "I'm _so_ glad you could make it home _on time_, like you _promised_. It would be _such_ a shame if you broke yet _another_ promise to me." She glared at him, getting to her feet as she spoke, and without giving him a chance to respond, she went into their bedroom, locking the door behind her.


	3. Chapter 2

_A/N: As always, thanks for all your feedback & support. Although this chapter is still setting things up, I think (hope!) you will still enjoy it. The pace will pick up substantially in the next chapter, I promise!_

Chapter 2

**West Palm Beach**

Sam sighed with relief when she saw the plus sign on the stick.

She realized she wasn't out of the woods yet, what with the two previous miscarriages, but at least this was a chance. She wrapped the stick in newspaper and put it in a small plastic bag. She had to get it into the building trash right away. Maybe she was being paranoid, but she couldn't take even the smallest chance that Jax would stop by and see it in her garbage can, raising questions she couldn't yet afford to have him asking. And worse, she couldn't shake the feeling that Jerry would be stepping up his efforts to get her out Jax's life, maybe hiring a PI or sending some goon with a "friendly" warning. So, just in case he found someone that was enthusiastic enough to break in and dig through all her stuff, including the trash, she had to be sure there was nothing to find.

After returning from the garbage chute, she called the fertility clinic to make an appointment to confirm the pregnancy. She was just hanging up the phone with an appointment for the next morning when the doorbell rang. She walked over and looked through the peephole, almost groaning aloud when she saw who it was. She thought about pretending she wasn't home, but realized he would just come back, so she might as well deal with him now. She pulled open the door.

"What do you want?" she asked irritably.

"Nice to see you, too, darling," he responded silkily, in that smooth English accent that grated on her nerves, although she suspected he was accustomed to it having the opposite effect. "Aren't you going to invite me in? Or would you prefer we have this conversation here in the hall?"

"Fine," she said, turning and walking away, leaving the door open for him to follow. After she heard the door shut behind him, she continued in the same annoyed tone. "But say what you have to say and leave. I have more important things to do today than deal with you and your ridiculous accusations."

Jerry strolled in as though he had not a care in the world, ignoring her outburst. He gave her his charming, snake-oil-salesman smile as he made himself at home on her sofa without waiting for an invitation. "In that case, darling, allow me to come straight to the point. If you'll forgive the fishing metaphor, which given your history with boats, I'm certain you will, I know you think you have your hook set in my brother and all you have to do is tug a bit to reel him in. You must also be aware that I will never allow a … _questionable …_ woman like you to take advantage of his unfortunate tendency to be overly trusting. Therefore, I've come to see if we can't come to a mutually agreeable arrangement to ensure that we both get what we want."

"And what if what I want is your brother?" Sam challenged, keeping her tone smug, although his reference to her past on salvage boats was cause for concern. She had thought that part of her life was … well, _dead_. More than that, she thought she had buried it so deep that it couldn't ever come back to haunt her, glossing it over with a new identity and a very expensive paper trail proving a non-existent history at the right schools and on the right side of the tracks in the right towns. She wondered what else he had learned about her. Maybe her concern that he would hire a PI was too late – it seemed he may already have investigated her. But as long as he hadn't had anyone actually following her yet, she was still in the game. Jax wouldn't be concerned about her past once she told him about the baby.

She hoped.

"Come now, darling, don't try to play a player. We both know that you wouldn't have the slightest interest in my brother if his many assets didn't include a significant financial cushion along with an overly generous nature. So why don't we drop the pretense, and you can just name your price."

"What price? What are you talking about?" Sam injected a shocked tone into the words. She was determined not to admit anything. Who knew if he was taping their conversation? It was obvious to her that he had seriously underestimated her determination – and overestimated her gullibility -- if he thought this was all it would take to get rid of her. "I care deeply about Jax, and I would never take advantage of his faith in me."

Jerry's gaze hardened, and he leaned forward, dropping his voice to a low tone that was somehow more frightening for its lack of inflection or emotion. "Listen to me carefully, my little guttersnipe. This sweet-as-honey act may have Jax persuaded that you are a lady and his friend, but I know better. And although Jax seems to like you well enough now, I strongly urge you to think about what he might do when he discovers you aren't quite the perfect angel you've made yourself out to be. He tells me he's made it quite clear that he isn't looking for any kind of future with you, so you may as well get what you can from me, while the offer remains open." He paused, looking her straight in the eye for emphasis. "I want to make clear to you that I will stop at nothing – absolutely nothing -- to protect my brother, which could become distinctly troublesome for you. And you should also be clear on this -- I have the, shall we say, _flexible_ moral structure, as well as the powerful connections I would need to make you disappear without a trace. You would do well to heed my warning and make me an offer while the opportunity remains fresh."

Sam struggled to hide the small frisson of fear that ran down her spine at his tone. Perhaps, she thought briefly, _she_ had underestimated _him_. But it was too late to worry about that now. This pregnancy scam simply had to work, and she knew that if she showed fear now, he would pounce on it and that would be the end of any chance she had with Jax, baby or no baby. She forced an unconcerned smile to her face. "Jerry," she insisted, "I don't know why you have such a low opinion of me, but somehow you got a really wrong idea here. I _like_ Jax. I wouldn't do anything to hurt him. I _wouldn't_," she insisted in response to his skeptically raised eyebrow. "And even though you're so completely and totally wrong about me, I think Jax is really lucky to have a brother who loves him enough to watch his back. But, really, Jerry, I promise you have nothing to worry about with me."

Jerry's charming smile returned. "Just remember what I've said, darling. Don't think you have any chance of getting away with whatever scam you have going. I'll leave you now to consider what course of action is in your best interest." He took a business card from the breast pocket of his suit, and placed it on the coffee table, carefully arranging it so that it was square with the table's corner. "You can reach me anytime. Just be careful you don't leave it too late." He stood and walked to the door, saying wryly, "No, darling, don't get up. I can find my own way out." Never mind that she had made no move to walk him out in the first place.

As the door closed behind him, Sam let the insipid smile drop from her face and placed a shaking hand over her lower abdomen. "Well, baby, I sure hope you're a fighter, because with that man on my trail, I am running out of chances to get Jax and all his lovely money locked in to my life."

**Bloomington**

Three weeks after receiving the difficult news of her daughter's need for bone marrow, Joanna sat at her kitchen table, leaning on her elbows with her head in her hands. She was trying to work up the nerve to call the sperm bank she had used for both of her pregnancies. The results of the last test on the last of her cousins had been in last night's mail, waiting for their return from the latest round of doctor visits, dashing their last hope for a match for Isabella among her family. She had been praying so hard that among the nearly twenty relatives she had identified, just one would be able to save her daughter's life. But apparently no one in heaven had been listening to her pleas.

She sighed and picked up the phone, looking down at the phone number she had copied from the sperm bank's website before dawn that morning. She had been awake all night, waiting for it to be late enough to make the call she had been hoping she wouldn't have to make. It didn't help that the sperm bank was in California, meaning that she couldn't realistically expect anyone to answer much before noon, her time. Mark had left early with the children, taking them to Indianapolis to spend the day with his parents, so she would have privacy for this call. But the unfamiliar silence and solitude had left her with a lot of time to worry and not much else to do.

She sighed and began to punch in the number for the company that had given her the means to have the family she had always wanted. As she waited for someone to answer, she could only hope that they would now provide a means for her to keep it.

"Cryogenic Fertility Service and Storage Facility. Good morning. How may I direct your call?"

Joanna cleared her throat before responding nervously, "Good morning. I need to speak with whoever is in charge, please."

**Seattle**

Taking advantage of a break in the dreary weather, Elizabeth walked over to the park bench facing the duck pond and sat down. She pulled the bag of bread crumbs from her jacket pocket and absently began tossing handfuls to the ducks that had swarmed around her immediately upon her arrival. As she fed the eager ducks, she wondered what she was going to do.

She had known for nearly a month that she was pregnant, and she had yet to say anything to Lucky. Things had gone from bad to worse between them since the night she had locked him out of their bedroom. He had been sleeping on the couch ever since -- when he bothered to come home at all. Even Christmas had been tense, and she had breathed a guilty sigh of relief when he had been called into work at the last minute.

Worse, when he did come home, he was usually drunk and belligerent, which led him to try to pick fights with her, and led her to lock herself in the bedroom, away from him. She hardly recognized him anymore. He used to be so sweet and kind and loving, back when they were first dating.

Or maybe that had only been what he had wanted her to believe, what she had wanted to see. She had been a naïve teenager, and he had been her first crush. They had met when he was dating her sister Sarah, and she supposed it didn't say much for either of them that their first date had been an attempt on Lucky's part to get back at Sarah for cheating on him with the captain of the basketball team.

Unfortunately, that inauspicious start had widened the rift that had always existed between Elizabeth and her family, to the point where her parents and her brother spoke to her only at Christmas (and they had missed their usual call this year), and her sister didn't speak to her at all. Sarah and Steven had always been close, and Elizabeth had always been the odd one out, but she hadn't expected to be cut out of their lives completely. She had always thought the blood tie between them would win out over their differences, but when she started dating Lucky, her family had basically told her she was on her own.

In the years since, Lucky had also isolated her from her friends, so gradually that she hadn't realized what he was doing until it was too late. By the time they got married, he had arranged it so that her entire world revolved around him, and he had capped it off by announcing that he had taken a job with the Seattle Police Department and they would have to move away from Chicago, the only place she had ever lived.

Once there, despite their financial situation, he told her he didn't want her working – he could support them just fine and she should worry about taking care of him and his house. Never mind that it wasn't an actual house, just a tiny apartment. Just how much time did he think it took to keep four rooms clean, anyway? And since he was hardly ever home for dinner, there was no point cooking anything elaborate.

So here she was, in a city she hardly knew, where it never stopped raining for more than ten minutes at a time from September to July, with no job, no money, no friends, no family, and no prospect of getting any of these any time soon. Worse, she was quickly coming to hate the man she had vowed she would always love. And worse still, her prospects of getting away from him, of starting fresh somewhere else, were substantially diminished by the baby he had been so keen for her to have.

Yet, despite the way it further complicated her life, despite the fact that she felt trapped, scared, and totally alone, the irony was that she desperately wanted her baby. Even with all her misgivings about her marriage and her life, she had loved and wanted her baby more than anything from the moment she suspected its existence.

She was just no longer convinced she wanted to share the baby with Lucky. A tiny voice in her head kept whispering to her that he had no claim on this baby, that the baby was hers and hers alone, not in any way tied to Lucky -- which explained why she hadn't yet told him she was pregnant. She kept thinking that if only she could find a way to get away, if he didn't know about the baby, he might not look for her very hard.

Still, a small part of her hadn't completely lost hope – just wished he would go back to being the boy she had once loved, that he would love her back, that he would suddenly make an effort to salvage their relationship. All marriages had rough patches – maybe that's all this was – maybe things would get better when the baby was born. But the rational part of her knew that the baby wouldn't fix what was broken between them, and that part kept turning the same question over and over in her mind: _how will I get away?_

She sighed as she shook the last bread crumbs out of the bag for the ducks. Lost in her thoughts, she hadn't noticed the drizzle starting up again, and now she realized she was soaked to the skin. She took a deep breath, let it out, and stood to go home, no closer to figuring out what to do than she had been when she arrived.

As she walked home in the rain, she slid her hands across her belly and whispered, "I promise, baby, I _will_ figure this out. I _will_ find a way to give you the life you deserve. I'll protect you and love you and I won't let anyone hurt you, not ever. I promise."


	4. Chapter 3

_A/N: Thanks, as always, for all your feedback. I seem to be on a bit of a roll with this one, so here's another chapter. _

Chapter 3

**Port Charles, New York**

Jason slipped into the Quartermaine mansion through the terrace doors, keeping his senses alert for any sign of Edward or Alan. He hadn't wanted to come here, but Monica's message had sounded urgent.

In years past, he would have suspected a ploy to bring him back into the family fold, but Monica had made clear more than a year ago that she would not tolerate further attempts at manipulation. He hadn't really believed it until Emily told him that Edward was living at the Port Charles Hotel after his last scheme, because Monica had kicked him out of _her house_ until he could live by her rules. She had let him come back after a couple of weeks, but it seemed her point had been made -- things had been relatively quiet on the Quartermaine front ever since.

He headed toward Monica's office, where her message had said he could find her this afternoon. She looked up from her work when he slipped in and closed the door behind him.

"Jason, it's good to see you. How are you?" she asked, her face lighting up as she drank in the sight of him.

"I'm fine." He paused awkwardly, feeling, as always, the weight of being unable to be the son she had lost and still so desperately wanted back. Pushing his discomfort aside, he decided to get right to the point. "What do you need?"

Her smile dimmed slightly, but he appreciated her obvious effort to mask her disappointment when she said only, "A letter came here and I didn't know what to do with it, so I thought I would give it to you and you could do whatever you want." She moved some papers on her desk, then pulled out an envelope and handed it to him.

He glanced at it, then looked back at her. "It's addressed to Jason Quartermaine."

"Yes, well, I know you don't think of yourself that way anymore, but it didn't seem right for me to just throw out something marked 'extremely urgent,' 'personal,' and 'confidential.' It just seemed like something you should decide for yourself." She paused, sighed softly. "And for him."

He expelled a heavy breath, both seeing her point and resenting it at the same time. "Okay, I guess I'll deal with it." He turned to leave.

"Jason," she said, and he turned back. She hesitated, then said, "Take care of yourself. It was good to see you."

He nodded, "You, too." With that, he slipped out the way he had come.

XXXXXXXXXXXX

Jason stepped off the elevator and headed toward his penthouse, the letter already all but forgotten in the pocket of his leather jacket. Max called to him from his post at Sonny's door, "Jason, Mr. C. wanted to see you as soon as you got back."

Jason sighed and turned back across the hall, knocking once and walking in without waiting for a response. "Sonny?" he called. Sonny came out of the kitchen, wiping his hands on an apron.

"Jason, thanks for coming. Do you want a drink?"

"No. Max said you wanted to see me?"

"Yeah, I need you to go to Puerto Rico for me. Bernie says profits are down and Jose is sounding nervous and defensive whenever he asks about it."

"Okay, I'll go pack."

"Nah, no rush. There's a storm coming in, so you won't be able to get out till tomorrow at the earliest. Why don't you stay for dinner?"

"Courtney's expecting me."

"I called her already – she's on her way here."

"Yeah, okay." He took off his jacket and dropped it on the back of a nearby armchair just as Brenda came down the stairs.

"Jason, can't you hang that up?" she asked irritably as she grabbed it off the chair and headed toward the hall closet. As she did, the envelope fell out and landed on the floor. She picked it up, asking, "What's this?"

"Nothing. A letter Monica had for Jason Quartermaine. She should've just tossed it. He's dead." He glanced back at Brenda when she didn't answer, then paused and looked at her more closely. She was staring at the envelope, frozen, her face devoid of all color. "What's the matter with you?"

She opened her mouth, closed it, then looked at him. Sonny looked over at his uncharacteristically silent spouse. "Brenda? What's wrong?"

She looked from Jason to Sonny and back. Finally, she looked at a point on the wall behind Jason and said hollowly, "You need to open this."

"What? Why?"

She shook her head as though to clear it. He was impressed with the deliberate change in her tone when she spoke again. "It looks important," she said, almost nonchalantly. If he hadn't seen her initial reaction, he might have believed the casual act.

"Brenda," he started with exaggerated patience, "What do you know about that letter that you aren't telling me?"

"What? Nothing." But her voice was high-pitched, her tone defensive. "How would I know anything about your letter?"

"Brenda," he warned.

"I just think you should open it," she said firmly. "Someone obviously really wants to reach you if they tracked you down after all these years."

"No, someone wants Jason Quartermaine, not me."

"Same difference," she insisted.

"No, it's not."

"In this case, it is," she snapped.

"What?" She looked away. "Brenda, what does that mean?"

"Brenda, it's obvious you know something," Sonny interjected. "You might as well tell him. You know he'll find out anyway."

She sighed and looked away. "It's complicated," she began, only to be interrupted by an excited shout.

"Uncle Jason!" Her four-year-old daughter flew into the room and leaped into her uncle's waiting arms.

"Hey, there, Princess. Whatcha doing?"

"Mommy and me went to the park with Max and I saw a butterfly. I wanted to catch it but Mommy said it would be sad if we took it away from its family so we didn't," she reported earnestly. "Then we had ice cream and Mommy made Max promise not to tell Daddy."

Out of the corner of his eye, Jason caught both Brenda's guilty look and Sonny's attempt to glare at Brenda while he struggled not to laugh at his daughter. Jason smiled at Adela. "Sounds like you had fun."

Sonny interrupted their conversation, "Adela, sweetheart, it's almost time for dinner. Aunt Courtney will be here any minute. Why don't we get you cleaned up?"

"Okay, Daddy," she said happily, taking Sonny's hand as Jason let her slide to the floor. As soon as they were out of earshot, Jason said, "Come on, Brenda, tell me what you know."

She sighed, said, "Okay, but let's go to your place first. It's pretty personal." She called to Sonny that they would be right back.

Once they were inside his penthouse, she flopped down on the couch, handed him the letter, and began to speak.

XXXXXXXXXXXX

Ten minutes later, Jason paced back and forth in front of Brenda, trying to wrap his mind around the idea of his former self selling sperm for 200 a pop. "This is impossible. What the hell was he thinking?" He hadn't even opened the letter yet, and he was already overwhelmed with worry about the implications of this discovery.

"He implied he needed the money." Brenda looked uncomfortable with the conversation, but she gamely tried to defend the friend she'd lost to the friend she'd eventually regained.

"Why the hell would he need money? The Quartermaines have more money than they know what to do with. He had a trust fund. He had stock. He was the golden boy – they would've given him whatever he wanted."

"That's just it, though, Jason. He didn't yet have control of the trust fund or the stock, and anyway, he didn't want to use their money for this. He wanted to be independent. He wanted his being a doctor to be his own thing, not something he owed to his family. I would think you'd respect him for that."

"I would -- if he hadn't still taken an easy way out. Why didn't he just get another job or take out a loan like the rest of the world? Didn't he think about what this would mean?"

"Honestly, Jason, I don't know. I only found out about this a few weeks before the accident, just before he came back here for Christmas. I would have cornered him about it when he got back, but …" she trailed off.

"He never got back," Jason finished for her.

"Yeah," she said softly. "I didn't mean to keep this from you, you know – it wasn't intentional." Brenda looked worried.

He sighed. "By the time I woke up, you had other things on your mind," he guessed.

She nodded, adding, "And even if I hadn't met Sonny by then, you were initially in no condition to talk about anything like this. You were busy figuring out who you were and re-learning basic skills, and you were mad at the world, and you wanted nothing to do with Jason Quartermaine or anyone who knew him." She paused and looked at him tentatively. "I sometimes think you would have dropped me forever like you did Alan and Edward, if Sonny hadn't been put in the same room as you -- if he and I hadn't started falling in love by the time you woke up." She made a visible effort to push the old hurt aside. "Anyway, then by the time you would've been well enough, it wasn't even on my radar anymore because I was busy planning my wedding and fighting morning sickness."

He gave her a rueful half-smile. "You know you would have kept at me until I realized it was easier to keep you as a friend than to keep you away." Even though she sometimes drove him crazy, she could always get him to laugh – at himself, at others, at life -- as no one else could. She had also always done her best to be a loyal friend to him; he didn't want her thinking he didn't appreciate her, or that her continued presence in his life was solely due to their overlapping relationships with Sonny. Sobering, he added, "I'm not mad that you didn't tell me about this. Like you said, you had other priorities, and anyway, what good would it have done?"

"Well," she said carefully, "Getting that --" she nodded at the letter on the coffee table in front of her "-- might not have been quite so much of a shock." She took a breath and said, "Look, Sonny's gonna send out a search party if we don't get back over there soon. Why don't I go back and keep everyone occupied while you read it? Maybe it's not a big deal. Maybe they're just thinking of destroying some remaining samples or something."

"Yeah," he replied seriously, "maybe that's all it is. But I seriously doubt it will be anything that simple."

"Yeah, well, if you need help dealing with whatever it is, you know where I am."

"Yeah, I know. Thanks." He paused, watching her walk toward the door. "Brenda?" She looked over her shoulder at him. "Can you keep this to yourself for now?" She nodded. "Even from Sonny," he clarified. "I want to figure out what this is all about and what, if anything, I need to do about it before I deal with anyone else's reaction."

"Yeah, sure," Brenda said as she opened the door, "If that's the way you want it." The door clicked shut behind her, and Jason picked up the envelope. He turned it over thoughtfully in his hands, then sighed and slowly separated the flap from the body of the envelope.

As he unfolded the single sheet of paper, one final thought flashed through his mind: _I have a bad feeling about this._


	5. Chapter 4

_A/N: This story is so much fun to write -- I hope it stays that way (crosses fingers and knocks on wood) -- and I love reading all your comments. The combination is indeed keeping my muse working OT (although this chapter is on the short side – sorry about that). To those who have commented about Sam &/or Courtney, don't worry, you will soon see that I hate both of them as much as anyone (this story is far from friendly to either one). Also, I know I'm not the first person to say this, but Spinelli is REALLY hard to write! So please forgive me if I didn't get him quite right… _

_Okay, 'nuff said. Now I have to refocus the muse on Lea's delicious prompt for FNF #12 so I can do a timely update of Hide & Seek …_

Chapter 4

**Port Charles**

_Dear Mr. Quartermaine:_

_We are contacting you at the request of a client who has asked for our assistance in reaching you. As you are aware, we at Cryogenic Fertility Service and Storage Facility take seriously our duty to respect the privacy of our donors, and we are aware that at the time you entered your contract with us, you indicated that you preferred to remain anonymous. However, circumstances have arisen that may warrant reconsideration of your decision. Therefore, we agreed to contact you on behalf of a family that benefited from your participation in our donor program. The family has agreed that if you decide not to disclose your identity, they will make no further attempt to contact you. They have also asked us to convey their gratitude to you for your initial donation regardless of any decision you make at this time._

_A child that resulted from one of your donations in our clinic has been diagnosed with an aggressive form of leukemia. First-line treatments have been unsuccessful, and the family has been informed that the child will require a bone marrow transplant to provide any realistic hope of recovery. The child has been added to the National Bone Marrow Registry, but the chances of a match to anyone other than a biological relative are considered slim at best. The child's only sibling as well as all maternal relatives have been tested but have yielded no match. Therefore, the family hopes that you will consider being tested, and if you are a match, will provide this lifesaving treatment for the child. To the extent you may have other children or additional blood relatives, the family has asked that you consider making a similar request of them._

_We realize that this request is unusual and that your own life circumstances may prevent your involvement in this matter. We hope, however, that you will carefully consider this request and contact us with your answer as soon as you have decided what course you will take._

_Very truly yours,_

_Virginia Weitzman, M.D._

_Director of Clinical Services_

Jason rubbed his hand over his face. No matter how many times he read it, it didn't change. He had read it three times before going back to Sonny's. He had slipped out onto the balcony twice more during dinner to read it again. And now, having been unable to sleep with it running around in his head, he had turned the light back on and read it for the fifth time since coming home.

Courtney had been displeased with him for sending her home right after dinner. She had somehow failed to notice that he was even quieter than usual during dinner, and as soon as the main course had been cleared, she had twined her arms around his neck and whispered a suggestion that they head back to his place for dessert. He had declined rather coolly, pushing her off of him less gently than he normally would have, then telling her he had things to take care of and didn't have time for her right now. He realized it wasn't the most diplomatic response, but he just didn't have the patience to coddle her hurt feelings, so when she started to whine and complain, he said only that he had to go. Then he sent Brenda an imploring look before heading toward the door. The last thing he heard as the door closed behind him was Courtney's demanding voice, yelling, "But, Jason, you …" followed by Brenda's voice, in a soothing tone normally reserved for Adela, "You know how it is when he has business. Just let him go and I'm sure he'll call you when he's done."

Jason wasn't sure he would. He thought it might be time to cut her loose. Sure, she was basically an okay person, and she was a convenient and enthusiastic bed partner, but lately she seemed to be getting too clingy. He probably should have turned her down when she made that first pass at him six months ago, but he had been going through a dry spell and figured she knew the score. Sonny hadn't been happy about their relationship, if you could call it that, but Brenda had backed Jason up, telling Sonny that Courtney was an adult, and as long as Jason was upfront with her, Sonny didn't have any right to interfere. And since they all knew that Jason was honest to a fault, Sonny had reluctantly stayed out of it.

But lately, Courtney had started talking about the future, about marriage and even children, a future he had made clear to her from the start would not be in the cards for them. She was a little too spoiled and selfish to live with, and anyway, he figured his line of work was too dangerous to allow for the possibility of any kind of family life. He just hoped she wouldn't flip out when he told her they were done. And even more than that, he hoped that when Courtney came crying, Sonny would remember that Jason had always been honest with her and that it wasn't any of Sonny's business anyway. He didn't need drama from either one of them over a relationship that, except for sex, was basically all made up in her head.

Jason pulled his thoughts back to the letter and what he should do about it. His initial reaction had been that he shouldn't have to clean up Jason Quartermaine's mess, so maybe he would just respond that Mr. Quartermaine had died in an accident and let that be the end of it.

But the more he thought about it, he didn't think he could do it. Even if he didn't deal with the issue of the sick child, he was disturbed that he might have other children out there that he would never know. Children that, if not for this situation, he would never have even have imagined might exist. For a guy who would never have a family, he actually loved children. Adela certainly had him wrapped around her little finger, and he also doted on his sister Emily's three children.

Usually, he was the first to say that blood ties didn't matter – look at how he felt about his chosen family of Sonny, Brenda, and Adela, as well as his adopted sister Emily and the two kids she had adopted with her husband of four years. And compare that to his dislike of most of his blood relations – blood really _didn't_ matter.

Except when someone needed bone marrow.

Or, if his thoughts now were any indication, when he had potential biological children out in the world without actually knowing them, without being certain they were all right.

With that thought in mind, he realized he wasn't going to be able to just let this go. He wasn't even going to be able to just deal with the sick child and let the rest of it go. Tomorrow he would call the sperm bank and let them know his decision regarding the bone marrow test, but he wasn't even going to try asking them about the rest of it. He figured there was no way they would share any information with him, any more than they would have shared information _about_ him, so he didn't want them to have any warning that he wanted information they hadn't offered. Maybe it was paranoid, but he didn't want to take a chance on them taking additional steps to secure the information out of his reach.

He sighed and glanced at the clock. Three-twelve am. He decided to call anyway, figuring Spinelli probably wouldn't hear the phone if he was asleep, and if he did, well, that was why Jason paid him so much.

Spinelli answered on the third ring, and as usual, he began talking without giving Jason a chance to say a single word. "Stone Cold, what catastrophe has befallen you to cause you to reach across the miles for assistance in the darkest hour of night? How may the Jackal give aid to the master?"

"Spinelli," Jason said patiently, "I need you to do something for me, and no one else can know."

"What is the problem, oh Wise Mentor? Is the Godfather or the Hot Mama in peril? Is the Little Mob Princess in danger?"

"No, Spinelli, and you better not let Sonny hear you calling them that." He paused, deciding how much to say over the phone. Finally, he settled on, "Look, I need you to help me with a situation that's come up. Something Jason Quartermaine did years ago has become a problem that I have to handle. I want you here first thing tomorrow – well, today. I'll tell you then what you need to know."

"The master may count on his grasshopper in this as in all things. The Jackal will be present at Casa de Stone Cold before the first rays of dawn begin to banish the dark of night."

"Fine, I'll see you then." Jason hung up without waiting for another longwinded response. Deciding he had done what he could for the moment, he turned off the light and made another attempt to get some sleep.


	6. Chapter 5

_A/N: My muse insisted that I had to write a chunk of this chapter from Spinelli's POV, which was incredibly difficult and I don't really know how well it came out. But it was kind of fun to try it … Also, I'm really happy with the last part of this chapter (shows you how much I hate Cornho), although I wasn't sure Jason would ever speak that harshly to a woman he was sleeping with – even if it was just sex. But then I decided she pissed him off so badly – and justifiably so -- that he might be just slightly less in control than he usually is, and might not soften things up as he otherwise might. I'd be very interested to hear what you think …_

Chapter 5

**Port Charles**

At 6 am sharp, Spinelli tumbled off the elevator on the top floor of Harborview Towers, tripping in his haste and almost dropping the laptop he carried before righting himself and hugging the computer to his chest. The guards were familiar enough with his comings and goings that they just stepped aside without a word when he rushed off the elevator. He burst into the penthouse, calling out "Stone Cold? Your faithful grasshopper is present as promised."

He received no response, and the living room was empty, so he went into the kitchen to grab a bottle of the nectar of the gods that Stone Cold kept cold for him. After receiving the summons from his mentor, he had decided not to heed the sandman's call for fear of not returning to full consciousness in time to arrive at Casa de Stone Cold as promised, so he had substituted a highly charged – though gastronomically displeasing – caffeinated energy drink, for his preferred liquid nourishment. Even if the caffeine in the five cans he had polished off in rapid succession hadn't kept him from succumbing to the siren call of Hypnos, the repeated need to empty his bladder would have. But now that he was here, he reasoned he could safely return to consumption of his standard beverage of choice. If he yielded to the need for slumber, Stone Cold would surely rouse him when he made his anticipated appearance.

As Spinelli came back into the living room, sighing with pleasure as the first drops of nectar hit the flavor sensors in his mouth, he saw Stone Cold jogging down the stairs carrying a duffel bag in one hand and his signature outerwear in the other. "Is the master leaving? Should the grasshopper have brought a change of wardrobe to accompany Stone Cold in his travels?"

"I have to go out of town on business, and I need you to look into something while I'm gone."

"Your wish is my command, sensei. The Jackal notes that Stone Cold seems rather agitated, unlike his usual stoic self."

"Will you stop talking and listen? This is important." There was the Stone Cold glare the Jackal had come to expect from the master. "I got this yesterday," he handed over the missive, and the Jackal glanced at it only long enough to note that it was addressed to Jason Quartermaine before focusing once again on Stone Cold's instructions, "I need you to hack into their system and find out what happened to all the deposits Quartermaine made." Stone Cold's glare became even more intense. "No one can know about this, Spinelli. I mean it -- no one."

"It will take some effort even for the Assassin of Cyberspace to hack the security of a financial institution. May the Jackal know why Stone Cold is suddenly interested in his long-gone alter ego's financial dealings?"

The Jackal wondered what he had said amiss when Stone Cold released a heavy gust of frustration in the form of a sigh. "Spinelli, I don't have time for this. I have to go. It's not a bank you're hacking into. It's …" He paused, letting out another deep exhale. "Look, just read the letter. I'll call you later." As he spoke, Stone Cold walked toward the door, switching the duffel bag from one hand to the other as he shoved one arm and then the other into the sleeves.

Stone Cold turned to glare at him once more as he opened the door. "No one knows, Spinelli," he reiterated, and then he was gone, leaving Spinelli staring at the closed portal.

XXXXXX

Courtney Matthews was nervous. No, she was beyond nervous – she was scared.

She could feel Jason slipping away, and there didn't seem to be anything she could do about it. She had tried showing up to surprise him, but he found excuses to leave at the first opportunity. She had tried leaving things at his place, figuring she could then drop by to get them back, but he would send one of the guards to return it to her before she had a chance. She had tried pretending to fall asleep right after they made love, figuring he would let her stay the night, but he always woke her up and had one of the guards take her home – he never even took her home himself! And if they went to her place, he would just roll off of her the second he was done, pull his clothes back on, and be out the door before her breathing even returned to normal.

Out of desperation, she had finally tried distancing herself, figuring he would miss her and come begging for more attention. Unfortunately, he didn't seem to notice her absence, let alone miss her. When she said she had plans and couldn't see him, he just said, "Okay. Call me if you change your mind." Then he hadn't called her again.

Not once in almost a month.

She finally broke down and called him, inviting him for dinner last night. She had planned to order takeout from Kelly's (his favorite for some reason she never understood), figuring they would eat it by candlelight, then make love all night so she could remind him of what he had been missing. But then Sonny had called, insisting they come to his penthouse instead. She had given in because she had no choice, but had figured they would leave right after dinner and after being without her for so long, this would finally be the night he would let her stay over, making love to her repeatedly before leaving on his mysterious trip.

That hadn't worked out, either. He had been preoccupied all through dinner, had hardly heard a word anyone said, even Adela. He kept disappearing onto the balcony, for no apparent reason that she could see since he didn't even take his phone with him. Brenda kept giving him worried glances, but when Courtney went to follow him outside, Brenda stopped her, saying, "Leave him alone. He has stuff to do that doesn't concern you." She had been inclined to ignore Brenda, who she knew perfectly well only tolerated her for Sonny's sake, but then Sonny had seen what was happening and had intervened, telling her it was business and echoing Brenda's sentiment.

Then, when she had suggested dessert at his place, using her best "do me" whisper and rubbing sinuously against him, he had utterly humiliated her by pushing her off him and walking out, with an indecipherable look at Brenda, and without even a single glance back at _her_.

She was really starting to think she was losing him.

So late last night, she had decided to take matters into her own hands. If they weren't in the same town, she couldn't seduce him back into her bed. And after everything she had done to get Jason to finally notice her, to entice him into a relationship with her, she wasn't giving him up without a fight.

Which explained how she wound up in her current situation – on Sonny's private plane at cruising altitude, staring at a very angry Jason Morgan and searching for something to say to calm him down.

She had slipped onto the plane last night, hiding behind the carved oak bar until half an hour after they had taken off, then popped out and walked toward him with a coy smile, dropping the trenchcoat she had used to cover her black lace push-up bra, crotchless panties, and the matching sheer stockings and garter belt. At her movement, he had looked up from his papers, jumping to his feet and reaching automatically for his gun. When he recognized her, he had lowered the gun to his side, and his eyes had widened in what she had assumed was surprised desire. She had said, "Surprise," in her most seductive tone, and started to throw her arms around him.

But instead of smiling and taking her in his arms as she had imagined, he stopped her in her tracks, saying in the ice cold voice he used only when he was beyond livid, "What the hell do you think you're doing here?"

"I – I wanted to surprise you," she said defensively. "We haven't been together in weeks and I just thought …" Her voice trailed off as she took in the muscle ticking in his jaw and realized how truly irate he was.

His next words – and his clipped, precise tone – confirmed it. "No, Courtney, you didn't think. This is a business trip, not some sort of romantic getaway. I don't have time for you."

"But Jason," she whined, "I've missed you. We never see each other anymore. I thought we could take this chance to reconnect."

"I don't have time for you," he said again, still cold as ice. "I have business to deal with. You can't be here." He pulled out his cell phone and turned it on, punching in a number that was obviously on speed dial.

She said, "But Jason, I can keep busy while you do what you need to do. I'll shop or something, and then when you're done with business, we can …"

Courtney stopped talking because he started speaking into the phone as though she wasn't there. "We've got a problem… Your sister is here…Yeah, on the plane… Do you want me to turn around now or send her back as soon as we get there … About half an hour … Yeah, okay." He hung up, and without a glance in her direction, he picked up the intercom to speak to the pilot. "Turn around. We have a stowaway."

As he hung up, he made a visible effort to calm down, pinching the bridge of his nose between his thumb and forefinger as he took several deep breaths. She even heard him muttering something under his breath. She took a step toward him, but he raised a hand toward her, silently commanding her to stay where she was. "Jason, I'm --" she started, but with a single, brief scowl in her direction, he silenced her, then turned away again and went back to muttering.

He took several more deep breaths, and she finally registered that he was counting, and had gotten as high as fifty before he took one last deep breath, and finally turned to look her in the eye. She was momentarily relieved that he seemed back in control, but then he said flatly, "I wasn't going to get into this until I got back but since you're here, you might as well know now. We're done."

She started to protest, "But Jason, you can't mean that. I know you're mad, and maybe I shouldn't have come, but we love each other."

His incredulous look gave her pause. "Where did you get that idea? I told you from the beginning that we were all about sex and that's all we would ever be. What part of that was unclear?"

She sputtered, "But you couldn't make love to me like you do if you didn't love me. You changed your mind. You must have. You weren't seeing anyone else."

"It was sex, not love," he said baldly. He was impervious to the tears that began trailing down her cheeks as he continued emphatically, "And I got plenty from you whenever I was in the mood, so there was no need for anyone else. But just so we're clear now, I don't love you, I will never love you, we will not be having a future of any kind, and I no longer need or want you in my life. I'll find someone else the next time I want to get laid." He paused, then added in that same flat voice, "We'll be landing soon. You might want to put on some clothes before your brother sees you." And with that, he picked up the papers he had been scrutinizing before her interruption.

He didn't acknowledge her again as she grabbed the trenchcoat and ran sobbing into the bathroom, slamming the door behind her.


	7. Chapter 6

_A/N: In case I haven't mentioned it before, feedback really inspires me! More feedback equals more inspiration equals faster updates. Just sayin'... _

Chapter 6

**Port Charles**

Brenda breezed into Jason's penthouse, her eyes quickly scanning the room before settling on the young man sitting on the couch. He was typing furiously on the laptop computer he had set on the coffee table in front of him and didn't immediately acknowledge her presence.

"Spinelli, did Jason leave already?" She realized she must have startled him, and she winced as he jumped off Jason's couch, arms flying. He barely rescued his laptop from being flooded with orange soda by grabbing the computer off the coffee table. The bottle rolled off the table and landed on the floor. Brenda winced again as she made a mental note to call a cleaning service to take care of the sticky orange mess that was rapidly saturating the carpet. She said, "Sorry, I thought you would have heard the door."

Meanwhile, Spinelli hastily shoved a single sheet of paper into an envelope. He appeared momentarily uncertain of what to do with it, then suddenly he stuck it in the back pocket of his jeans and dropped back into his previous seat on the couch, resting the laptop on his knees. "Hello, Photogenic One. Stone Cold departed with the first rays of the morning sun on business for Mr. Corinthos Sir. Can the Jackal be of service?"

"I wanted to ask Jason about a letter he got yesterday." Her eyes narrowed thoughtfully. "He didn't happen to mention it to you, did he?"

"Mention it? Um, no, Stone Cold didn't mention any letter to the Jackal." He avoided her eyes.

Brenda raised a skeptical brow. Spinelli was a terrible liar. "Spinelli, you wouldn't lie to me, would you?" He looked around the room, avoiding her eyes.

"Why would the Jackal deceive the most trusted Photogenic One?" he replied evasively. "Mr. Corinthos Sir would be most put out if the Jackal attempted such an undertaking."

"Exactly. So what was that you stuck in your pocket?"

He gulped and paled, asking nervously, "What pocket, most cherished mother of the Petite Princess?"

"The one you're sitting on."

"Oh." He paused, and Brenda realized she had never before seen him at a loss for words. She kept her gaze intent on him as he looked anxiously around the room. Finally, he let out the breath he had been holding and looked at her pleadingly, saying in a rush, "Please query the Jackal no more. Stone Cold was most insistent that the Jackal should keep the information entrusted to him entirely private while he conducts his investigation."

"Does this have to do with the sperm bank?"

He turned bright red. "The Jackal beseeches the Photogenic One to choose some other topic for discussion, otherwise there is no predicting what Stone Cold may do to the Jackal in his fury …"

Brenda interrupted him, exclaiming excitedly, "It _is_ about the sperm bank!" He groaned and dropped his head into his hands, muttering something about perishing before experiencing the bliss of being shot by Cupid's arrow. She rolled her eyes and said, "Oh, will you relax? I already know about the stupid letter, so Jason won't be mad at you. I assume he's got you researching something? What can I do to help? Here, let me see the letter." She held out a hand expectantly.

Spinelli's phone rang before he could respond, and Brenda dropped her hand, frowning when he spoke into the receiver with a relieved tone, "Stone Cold, the Jackal is most grateful to receive your call at this most auspicious time… the Photogenic One is present, interrogating the Jackal about his current top secret investigation…"

Brenda yanked the phone out of his hand. "Jason, what's going on? Spinelli won't tell me anything, and I want to help."

"Brenda," Jason sounded annoyed. "Put Spinelli back on. I don't have time for this."

"Well, if you don't have time, why don't you just tell him to let me see the letter?"

"No. Put him back on the phone."

"What do you mean, no? Why not?"

"Because I want more information first."

Brenda frowned again, letting her displeasure show in her voice. "Come on, Jason, just tell him to let me see it."

"No. Put him on the phone."

"Jason," she cajoled.

"Brenda," he warned.

"Fine," she huffed, "but you have to promise you'll tell me as soon as you get back."

"Whatever. Now will you _please_ put Spinelli on?"

"Okay, fine, here he is." She paused before adding, "Have a good trip." Brenda hated waiting, almost as much as she hated being out of the loop on anything important to someone she cared about. She promised herself that she would find out what was going on, preferably before Jason got home.

She handed the phone back to Spinelli, then sat in Jason's leather chair. She made it clear that she had no intention of leaving, and she made no effort to hide her interest in the conversation. Spinelli spoke quietly, so it was difficult to decipher what was going on, but she gathered that she had been correct and Spinelli was looking into something related to the letter.

_Too bad Spinelli's still sitting down_. _If only he would pace, I could pick his pocket…_She eyed him speculatively, watching him tap a foot rapidly in his agitation, but he didn't get up. She sighed and began planning how she would find out about the letter.

**Seattle**

Despite Lucky's insistence that he didn't want her working, Elizabeth had finally decided her only hope of getting away was to get a job without his knowledge. Considering the hours he spent at his job, she concluded that she could work as a waitress on a lunch shift, since even if he happened to get home early, she could come up with a plausible excuse to account for her absence. Also, so far her morning sickness had been mild, and limited to when she first woke up. Fortunately, on the few mornings when Lucky hadn't left early, she had been able to keep it at bay with ginger ale and crackers that she hid under her side of the bed and ate as soon as he got into the shower.

She had found a job at a very small, very popular diner in a part of town that was far from both their apartment and his precinct. She had first seen the "Help Wanted" sign when she and Lucky had walked past it on their way to the bus stop from an appointment at the fertility clinic across the street. Lucky couldn't even be bothered to drive her home after the appointment. He just walked her to the bus, saying he had to get back to work right away, and gave her a distracted kiss on the cheek before heading back to the car alone.

She hadn't let herself wish for a job that first time the sign caught her eye, still caught up in doing what Lucky wanted without question. But even then, if she was honest with herself, in her secret heart, she had really wanted that job. She had wanted that small bit of independence. She didn't have a lot of skills, but she was friendly and a hard worker, and she was sure she could manage to take orders, pour coffee, and serve sandwiches without too much trouble.

It seemed ironic to her now that that first walk past the diner was on the very day she had gotten pregnant, which had eventually given her the incentive she needed to risk angering Lucky by applying for the job. When she had seen the sign was still there, the day after she had sat feeding the ducks and trying to figure out what to do, it had seemed like fate -- especially when she learned the job was temporary, which suited her perfectly. She had been hired on the spot to fill in for the owner's daughter, who was also about to have a baby. The only downside was that she had to take two buses each way, which added forty-five minutes on either end of her shift.

But after two and a half weeks of work, she already had saved nearly two hundred dollars in tips, so it was worth it. She planned to use whatever she made in the approximately three months she would work there to buy a bus ticket. She hadn't decided where she would go – maybe she would just take the first bus going anywhere far away from here.

Or maybe she would try one more time to reach out to someone in her family. Maybe time had softened their attitude toward her mistakes. Maybe the fact that she regretted her actions would open the door for them to forgive her and allow her to forge a new relationship with them. Maybe even if they still didn't want a relationship with her, they would be more receptive to a relationship with her son or daughter.

Or maybe they wouldn't. Really, it didn't matter that much, as long as she and the baby could start fresh.

Today, she got off the bus after her shift and walked two blocks to the Laundromat around the corner from their apartment. Her arms were exhausted by the time she pushed the door open, from toting the bag of dirty clothes slung over her shoulder. It was a pain to carry them all the way to work and all the way back, but this was the excuse she had planned for being out today, so it couldn't be helped.

Pushing the door open, she spied a couple of free washers toward the back and headed toward them. As she sorted through the dirty clothes, separating them into groups of like colors and checking Lucky's for stains he might have forgotten to mention, she thought about her plans, thinking of all the places she might go when she left here. She started to take a deep breath, trying to stop worrying, when suddenly she froze, sniffing delicately and looking more closely at the shirt in her hand.

It was the button-down shirt Lucky had been wearing a few nights ago, when he had come home late yet again. She lifted it to her face, her heart beating a rapid tattoo, and sniffed again. She let her hands drop in shock. The shirt positively reeked of an expensive perfume that she had smelled only once before, when some saleswoman in a department store had ambushed her with it as she walked by.

Her mind could not wrap itself around the probable meaning of this. No matter how tense things were between them, he wouldn't cheat on her, would he? _He cheated on Sarah,_ whispered a small voice in her head. _But she cheated on him first, _she argued with herself. _I never cheated on him – he just wouldn't do that to me. He loves me. _But part of her didn't believe it. Not anymore.

She dropped the shirt into the correct pile, and continued sorting the laundry by rote.

XXXXXXXXX

When Elizabeth arrived home two hours later, Lucky was waiting for her, beer in hand. "Where have you been?" he demanded. "I've been waiting for you for the past hour and it doesn't look like you've done anything about dinner."

She looked at him blankly, then put the laundry bag down and said shortly, "Where does it look like I've been? And dinner will be ready soon. It's just pasta, it won't take long."

"Well, why did you wait so late? What did you do all day?" He drained the last of his beer and dropped the empty can into the recycle bin without bothering to rinse it out.

"I tried to go earlier," she lied, "but all the machines were full so I had to go back."

"Well, I wish I would've known before I took the trouble to come home and spend time with you." He got another beer out of the fridge and went to sit in the living room. "Anyway, I'm working an extra shift tonight, so I have to leave as soon as we're done with dinner."

As the words left his mouth, her inner voice whispered, _he's lying._ Part of her was dying to confront him, to let him know that she knew he was cheating on her, or even to snap at him that maybe he should have started dinner himself if he was in such a big hurry.

Instead, she took a breath and silently reminded herself that it would be easier to get away when the time came if she allowed him to believe she was still the naïve child-woman who believed anything he said. So she left it alone, saying only, "Okay. Let me get it started, then."

**West Palm Beach**

Sam sat in the upscale restaurant at their usual table, tapping her foot rapidly as she waited for Jax to arrive. He had sounded unusually serious when he had called, asking her to meet him for lunch, so she was a little nervous about what he might have to say.

She had been relieved when the doctor had confirmed the results of her home pregnancy test. She was doing everything in her power to improve the odds of carrying to term -- eating right, getting a lot of rest, avoiding caffeine and alcohol, taking prenatal vitamins, doing gentle activities like walking and swimming. The only thing that was proving difficult was avoiding stress. She had seen Jerry at two social events since he had ambushed her in her apartment a month ago. He had been a perfect gentleman both times, which had paradoxically served only to stress her out even more. She had been dying for a drink, or maybe a Valium, to take the edge off, but instead she had done the only thing possible: smiled politely, chatted civilly, and excused herself at the first possible opportunity.

Now, she looked up and smiled at Jax as he approached the table, "Hi there, handsome," she said brightly. He returned her smile with a small one of his own and leaned down to kiss her cheek before taking a seat opposite her.

"How are you, Sam?" he asked jovially, not quite meeting her eyes.

"I'm fine," she answered, pretending not to notice his discomfort as her own palms started to sweat. "It's great to see you, as always. How are you?"

"Fine, fine," he replied, still with false cheer. "Have you decided what you want to order? How about a drink to start us off? A nice cabernet, perhaps? Or something stronger? I know you love a good martini."

"No, that's okay, I have a massage scheduled later, and I'm supposed to avoid alcohol beforehand," she lied smoothly, adding with a shrug, "Something about hydration and flushing toxins or something."

"Oh," he frowned, and she watched him curiously, wondering why he might want to get her drunk – or at least relaxed. "Well, let's order then, shall we?" He gestured toward the waiter, who immediately approached.

"Sure, I'll have the lobster ravioli," she said. Jax ordered a steak, and after the waiter left, he started to make small talk. It took all of Sam's considerable acting skills to keep up her part in the light conversation, as all the while her mind raced with the fear of what topic he was so obviously avoiding.

By the time they had finished their soups and salads, Sam was ready to scream, and her cheeks hurt from keeping a sweet smile fixed on her face. But she kept smiling and chatting anyway, all the way through the main course and then the decaf coffee she sipped while he ate cheesecake. The fact that he had ordered dessert confirmed her gut feeling that something was seriously wrong, something he was putting off telling her. Jax never ate dessert.

Finally, he sat back, pushing his plate away, and looked at her consideringly. "How long have we known each other, Sam?"

"I don't know, exactly," she replied carefully, although she actually knew to the day when they had met. "Maybe a year-and-a-half? Two years?"

"Yeah, that sounds right." He paused. "We're friends, aren't we?"

"Well, sure we are." She injected a note of surprise into her reply, adding, "Why would you ask me that after all this time?"

"Well," he said uncomfortably, "I just would hate to hurt you after all the fun we've had together."

"Why would you think you might hurt me?" Sam's stomach was in knots and her head was pounding, but her voice belied none of her inner turmoil.

"I wouldn't – at least I hope not." Another pause, then, "The thing is, I've met someone, and although I don't want to lose our friendship, it's time to stop … well, doing anything beyond that."

Sam swallowed the bile that rose in the back of her throat, her thoughts racing. She had been so busy worrying about Jerry sabotaging her chances with Jax that she hadn't seen even a hint of this potential threat. She quickly recovered herself enough to say, "Oh, well, of course, if that's what you want. I just want you to be happy. Do I get to meet her?"

"Eventually, sure, but I think it might be a little awkward initially, don't you?"

"Why should it be awkward?" she asked, smiling as though she weren't seething inside. "We were never more than friends with benefits, anyway, so unless she expected that you had no past experience, I wouldn't think it was a big deal. But if it would make you uncomfortable …"

"No, no, I just … well, I guess I forgot you wouldn't react like a woman scorned, since we never pretended to be in love."

Sam forced a note of happy enthusiasm into her tone. "Right. So tell me about her. What's her name? What does she do? What's she like? How did you meet her?" She needed to learn everything she could about this interloper, so she could figure out the most effective way to get rid of her.

He laughed, noticing nothing amiss, sounding relieved. "Her name is Skye, she's an executive with ELQ up in Port Charles, New York, and she's beautiful, smart, passionate, fun, challenging, and, well, perfect. Jerry introduced us last month – he knew I was looking at a takeover of ELQ, but he thought she might be able to get me a meeting with the ELQ board to discuss the possibility of a merger instead. You know, I can't believe I was worried about this. Listen, I've got to go." He stood, smiling broadly, giving her no opportunity to say anything, which was probably good, considering her shock. He leaned down to kiss her cheek. "You're the best! I can't wait for you to meet her. I'll call you." With that, he was gone, leaving Sam to wonder how it had all gone so wrong so quickly.

As she watched him leave the restaurant, a thoughtful scowl replaced her false smile. One name reverberated in her head. _Jerry. _He had set this in motion, most likely even before he had come to her apartment last month to try to buy her off. She narrowed her eyes, placing her hand on her belly under the table. "Don't worry, baby," she said quietly, "Jerry may think he's won, but when the dust settles, we'll be the ones standing at the altar with Jax."


	8. Chapter 7

_A/N: Ok, diluvsrunning at RTN asked a question in last chapter's feedback about the timeline, and I responded in that thread, but I'm pasting part of the answer here, too, in case others are wondering the same thing:_

_The sperm was donated 5-6 years ago, since Jason Q started donating a year before the accident, which was 5 years before now. I actually checked on this before starting the story, and apparently, donated sperm is usually frozen and stored for at least 6 months, so that the donor can be tested again for HIV & stuff. Then it can be kept and used for up to 15 or 20 years (or maybe more, but apparently there have been documented cases where sperm that old was used successfully). So, as long as his sperm wasn't really popular, it is possible for it to have been used by the Walkers 5 years ago and by Sam & Liz within the past few months. _

_I also wanted to respond to a couple other themes in the feedback on the last chapter:_

1. Don't worry, Liz will soon know all she needs to about Lucky & his activities.  
2. Liason interaction is still a couple chapters in the future, but I think you will love it! And I cackle at some of the stuff happening between now & then – it's fun!  
3. Sam is pregnant, presumably by Jason's sperm, but don't worry! I have a plan – a brilliantly evil plan ('cause I hate Spam & I want her to SUFFER! A LOT!)  
4. Several of the Q's will start factoring in a bit more in the next few chapters  
5. This chapter hints at answers to the how many kids question, and at how Jason will respond…

_Keep that feedback coming – it encourages my muse and sometimes it leads to new developments that weren't in my original outline! _

_All right, I will shut up & let you read now!_

Chapter 7

**Port Charles**

Jason sighed with relief as he stepped off the plane and headed toward Sonny's waiting limo. He hung up his phone after leaving Spinelli a message to meet him at the penthouse as soon as possible. He wanted a progress report on the investigation, so he could decide on his next step.

Max opened the door for him and he slid in, glancing at Sonny to gauge his mood. They hadn't spoken in the week since Jason's plane had taken off after returning Courtney to Port Charles, although they had traded voice mails several times. Now, Jason was surprised to see Brenda was there, too, sitting next to Sonny, across from Jason. She grinned at him and leaned across to kiss his cheek, grabbing his hand and squeezing it. "Welcome back! How was the trip?"

"Fine."

Sonny chimed in, "Everything is taken care of?"

"Yeah, it's all good now." That was all that could be said with Brenda there, which was why Sonny usually picked him up alone.

"Good." Sonny paused. "Courtney was pretty upset when she got off the plane."

"Sonny," Brenda warned, flashing an apologetic look at Jason, "you promised not to interfere." The reason for Brenda's presence was suddenly crystal clear.

"What? I'm not interfering. I'm just sayin' … she was upset. 'Cause she was."

Jason didn't respond, so Brenda said, "Just leave it alone, Sonny. We all know she did it to herself. Even I'm not impulsive enough to stow away on the plane when you're going away on business. And believe me, the thought has crossed my mind once or twice. I just know better than to do it, and if I can control myself, so can she."

"Yeah, but he didn't have to dump her over it." Jason looked out the window, still silent.

"Of course he did," Brenda argued. "Between this latest stunt and her constant whining and her insistence on treating what was essentially a convenience as though it were some kind of grand love affair, she left him no choice."

Sonny's face darkened. "What do you mean, _convenience_? She's my sister, not some tramp."

Brenda didn't back down. "She knew from day one that Jason wasn't looking for anything more than mutually agreeable sex," she stated baldly. "It's not his fault that she agreed to that while assuming he would change his mind. We all know it's not _in_ Jason to string her along. He never even spent a full night with her. Hell, they never went on a real date; he never gave her a single gift, not even a crappy piece of costume jewelry on Christmas. How she thought he was in love is beyond me. No offense, Sonny, but Courtney is delusional." She caught Jason's eye and rolled her eyes. He hid his smile, knowing it would just upset Sonny more.

"Still, he could've let her down easy, not made her cry."

"Oh, sure, 'cause being tactful is soooo Jason's style." Even Sonny cracked a small smile at that.

Brenda continued, "Besides, Courtney shows no signs of being able or willing to read between the lines. If you think about it, it was actually kinder for Jason to make sure she knows where they stand than it would be to leave her with false hope. You always said you wouldn't interfere as long as he was honest." Sonny nodded reluctantly. "Well, this was Jason, being honest."

"All right," Sonny sighed heavily, "I'll let it go." He glanced at Jason. "Just try not to make her cry anymore, will ya? Her drama is driving me crazy."

Jason finally answered for himself. "As long as I don't have to lie to her."

"Fine."

Brenda changed the subject, chattering about how excited Adela would be to see her beloved Uncle Jason, and about the latest happenings in Port Charles, until they finally got back to Harborview Towers. Jason caught her eye as she moved to follow Sonny out of the limo. All he said was a whispered, "Thanks."

She squeezed his hand once more, and whispered back, "Anytime."

XXXXXXXX

Spinelli was sitting on the sofa, drinking orange soda when Jason opened the door. "What do you have for me?" he asked without preamble.

"Stone Cold, welcome back. The Jackal hopes most sincerely that the master's endeavors met with the utmost success. And may the Jackal urge Stone Cold most strongly to inform the Photogenic One of the nature of his communication from the DNA depository? Before she wears down the Jackal's resistance with her pleas, queries, and tricks? Stone Cold is aware of the Photogenic One's extreme persistence, is he not?"

Jason shrugged, not surprised that Brenda had been trying to get Spinelli to tell her what was going on, and not particularly interested in the details of her methods. "The trip was fine. I'll talk to Brenda. Now, what did you find out?"

"The Jackal started his assignment by finding the online profile of the Quartermaine heir, which, though technically anonymous, was identifiable based on a cross-match with GH's medical records of the entire Quartermaine family." He handed Jason a stack of papers. "It appears that, perhaps because he reported his primary motivation was a rather cold desire for cash rather than some more noble purpose, or possibly due to some of the health maladies suffered by members of his immediate family, the seed of Stone Cold's alter ego enjoyed only a modest degree of popularity."

"Get to the point, Spinelli."

"Well, after reviewing the publicly available portfolio, the Assassin of Cyberspace next jackalled into the server used by the frozen DNA depository. It is the Jackal's most unhappy duty to report to Stone Cold that the security measures protecting the depository's private information are primitive at best."

"Spinelli," Jason warned again, rapidly losing patience. "Get to the point."

"Right, well, the Jackal has learned that the Alter Ego made a total of 56 contributions before events unfolded that halted these deposits permanently. It appears that a number of samples remain at the double helix depository. Of those that were purchased, several went to an office in the heartland, some to a clinic in the southernmost playground of the rich and famous, and the rest went to the Emerald City."

"In _English_, Spinelli! Where are they?"

"Bloomington, Indiana; Palm Beach, Florida; and Seattle, Washington."

"Did you get into their records?"

"After determining the geographical coordinates of the clinics to which the genetic material was shipped, the Assassin of Cyberspace attempted to Jackal into their information systems, but either the necessary data is not computerized or the computers are not connected in cyberspace." Jason let out a frustrated sigh. Spinelli continued brightly, "However, the Jackal did find notes in the depository director's private files that suggest the unwell wee one is a four-year-old female who lives in Bloomington."

Jason digested that. "Go pack a bag, Spinelli. Be back here tomorrow morning."

"Does the master wish his grasshopper to take a trip? May the Jackal know the destination of his travel so as to select appropriate garments to suit the climate?"

Jason looked at him and sighed. "Pack for all kinds of weather. We're going to Bloomington, Palm Beach, and Seattle."

XXXXXXX

Later that afternoon, Jason waited in Monica's office at General Hospital. He had tried to think of a way to avoid telling the Quartermaines about his predicament, but unless he himself was a match for the child's bone marrow, he couldn't think of anything plausible that would keep the secret while getting them to get tested.

So he had come to Monica. He would tell her what was happening, ask her to arrange his own test, and ask her if she had any ideas about how to get the family tested without telling them why.

She came into her office and gasped, her hand flying to cover her heart, when she saw him there. "Jason! You startled me! I thought you were out of town!"

"I was. I just got back. I didn't mean to scare you, but I needed to talk to you so I let myself in."

She took and released a breath, relaxing consciously, then waved a hand, dismissing his almost-apology. "Never mind that. It's good to see you for any reason. How are you?"

"I'm fine. But I need a favor."

She brightened. "Of course. Whatever you need, you know that. What can I do for you?"

He hesitated. "I -- I need a blood test done."

She frowned, instantly concerned. "Are you sick?"

He heard the worry in her voice. "No, it's not really about me. Not directly." He sighed, searching for words to explain. "That letter …"

She looked at him quizzically for a moment before she realized what he meant. "The one addressed to …" she trailed off, uncomfortable saying aloud the name that irritated him so very much.

"Yeah, the one you gave me." He paused, took a breath. "Look, I don't know how to say this, so …" He took another breath, then said quietly, "He was selling his sperm, apparently to finance the lifestyle he wanted." Monica gasped, shook her head in denial. He continued, "Apparently at least one child resulted, who now has an aggressive form of leukemia. She needs a bone marrow transplant."

Monica sat down heavily. "Oh." She held up a hand, shaking her head again, when he started to say more. "No, wait." She took several deep breaths before continuing, "Give me a minute. This is a bit of a shock." After another pause, "I guess they haven't found a match among her other relatives."

"No. So they contacted … well, me, and asked me to be tested, and to consider asking blood relatives to be tested."

"Jason, I'd be happy to help you any way I can. I wish I was your biological mother. What do you want to tell the family?"

"Nothing, at least until after I've been tested. Can you do it?"

"Sure."

"And in the meantime, if you could try to think of a way to get everyone else tested without having to say why …"

She smiled wryly, "That's a tall order, but I'll see if I can come up with anything. For now, let me just go get a lab tech to draw the blood."

XXXXXXX

When Jason got home, he found Brenda sitting on his couch, reading a magazine. He asked, "What are you doing here? Where's Sonny & Adela?"

"They're home." She pinned him with a sharp look. "Now, tell me what the letter was about."

"What letter?" Jason stalled.

She gave him an irritated scowl. "You know what letter. What's going on?" At his hesitation, she said, "You promised to tell me when you got home, remember? And Spinelli's about to crack – you don't want him to feel like he's betraying you, do you?" When he still hesitated, she went in for the kill. "Besides, you owe me."

"For what?!"

"For getting Sonny to drop the whole Courtney thing."

He pinched the bridge of his nose, then rubbed his forehead. He could feel Brenda waiting, watching him. Finally, he asked, "What if I asked you to let this go?" At her look, he said, "Yeah, I didn't think so, but it was worth a shot." He paused, giving her a slight frown before continuing. "Fine, but you still have to keep this to yourself. No telling Sonny or Max or anyone. Only Spinelli and Monica know, so you can only talk to them about it, and only in complete privacy." He went to the desk, pulled the letter from the top left drawer, and handed it to her. When she finished reading it, she looked up, stunned.

"Wow," she said after a long pause. "I don't know what to say."

He took a deep breath, rubbing the back of his neck absently as he watched her absorb the letter's contents. She just sat there, looking first at him, then at the letter, then back at him. She really did look like she was at a loss for words. He finally spoke, deliberately trying to lighten the mood. "Crap," he teased, "if you're really speechless, you just used up my quota of miracles for this month."

The teasing had the desired effect -- it seemed to jolt her back to herself. She laughed, smacked his arm, and asked, "Do you know what you're gonna do?"

"I'm getting tested -- Monica's taking care of it. I've got Spinelli looking into some things, and Monica's also working on a way to get the Quartermaines tested without alerting them."

"Hmm." She tapped the letter with one finger. "I'll have to think about that." She stood, handing him the letter. "I have to get home, but don't worry, I'll help you figure this out."

"That's what I'm afraid of."

She turned back to stick out her tongue at him before closing the door behind her.


	9. Chapter 8

_A/N: Thanks for all your support! This chapter was soooo much fun to write, but I should probably say, I know little to nothing about breaking into offices or computers or whatever, so please suspend disbelief with me… also, although Jason could probably have called and told the sperm bank to destroy his remaining samples, I decided he wouldn't trust them to actually do it – he'd want to take care of it himself! _

_As for Sam, I promise she's heading for a fall … but not yet!_

Chapter 8

**Port Charles**

Monica stepped into Kelly's and looked around. Brenda was sitting at a table in the corner, sipping a cup of coffee. Monica walked over and slipped into the chair opposite her. "Brenda, I was surprised to get your message since we just had lunch two days ago. Is something wrong?"

"No, not really. I just – well, I know Jason told you about what's going on with the bone marrow issue, and I wondered if you had any ideas for getting the family tested without alerting them."

Monica sighed wistfully. "I wondered if he told anyone else about that. He's always so closed off … I was hoping he had talked to someone …"

She trailed off as Penny approached. After Penny poured Monica the coffee she requested and walked away, Brenda smiled gently, "He knows I'll keep bugging him until he tells me stuff, so usually I only have to threaten him a little bit. I just say I'm gonna sit on his couch and talk till he tells me everything, and he caves."

Monica smiled, "I'm glad he has you for a friend." She sighed again. "I haven't really come up with any ideas yet. I'm still hoping that Jason will be a match himself so no one else will need to be tested. He never asks me for anything and the one time he's willing to let me help him, I can't figure out how." She smiled wryly. "Can you believe I actually considered slipping sedatives into their after-dinner drinks and drawing blood while they're unconscious? I just couldn't figure out how I would explain the bandages when they woke up."

Brenda laughed, "Yeah, that would be a challenge. Although if you put a bandage on yourself, too – well -- no, I guess not." She leaned forward and whispered, "It's okay, I think I have an idea that might work, and the best part is, if one of them is a match, they still wouldn't have to know anything about the biological tie between them and the child."

Monica looked skeptical, but said only, "That would be a miracle. How on earth do you think we can accomplish that?"

"Simple. We find some other child, preferably a GH patient, who needs a bone marrow transplant, and we use that child as an excuse to run a bone marrow registry drive. Since the registry is national, once the information gets entered into the database, we'll know if anyone in the family – or anyone in the community – is a match. I know that sounds a little weird, to deliberately use another sick child as a cover, but it could work and it might even save that child as well as Jason's child, and maybe even other people in other communities. With the Quartermaines' prominent roles as community and hospital leaders – and with Emily's cancer history, and yours -- they could easily be convinced to set the example by being tested. Maybe ELQ could even underwrite the cost. Everyone wins – the hospital and ELQ both get great PR, you get to help Jason, the little girl maybe gets cured, and the rest of the family is none the wiser. And we make sure there's enough publicity that if anyone in the family is a match to the child, they'll feel like it will look really bad if they don't actually go through with the bone marrow donation."

Monica stared at her, momentarily speechless as she considered the idea, looking for possible downsides Brenda might have failed to consider. She nodded slowly, her smile growing wide. "Brenda, that's brilliant. I really think it could work. How do we go about finding a child to trigger the campaign?" She paused, adding thoughtfully, "I suppose I could look at charts, but it would be hard for a cardiologist to explain why she's looking at files of pediatric oncology patients."

"Well, I thought about that, and I think we could go one of two ways. One, I was thinking maybe we bring Emily in on it. With her history of cancer, and how much she loves kids, it would make sense for her to decide to spend time visiting the pediatric ward, and maybe she would find someone. But that could take a while, because she'd have to appear to find out by chance so she wouldn't give the scheme away to Edward or Alan." She paused. "The other way is probably faster, but maybe not entirely legal, and I'm not sure how we make it look natural that we got involved …" When Monica didn't dismiss it out of hand, she continued tentatively. "Spinelli could maybe hack into the hospital records and find someone that way …" she trailed off, half-expecting Monica to refuse that idea outright, but hopeful that her love for Jason would win out over legalities.

Monica sipped her coffee, fingers drumming on the table as she considered the possibilities. After a while, she said seriously, "Actually, I think the best idea is to do a little of both. First, Spinelli identifies someone – as you said, preferably at GH, but if necessary, we could also use Mercy and make it a joint campaign. Then Emily knows who to cultivate to minimize the time it takes to have her "accidentally" find out in casual conversation. Then she raises the idea to Alan as chief of staff, and he either agrees outright as he usually does for Emily, or he bounces the idea off of me, and I convince him to go ahead with it. Emily asks Edward to have ELQ underwrite it, and he'll say yes, since he would do anything she asked of him, and then you and I volunteer to spearhead the campaign with her. How does that sound?"

"Perfect!" Brenda was thrilled with the way Monica had formed a cohesive plan out of Brenda's own disjointed ideas. "I'll talk to Spinelli and Jason if you can get Emily on board."

"Okay, but I don't want to tell Emily Jason's business without running it by him first. You know how private he is, and we're at a reasonably good place right now. I'll ask him if it's okay, and once I have the go-ahead, I'll talk to Emily." Monica glanced at her watch. "I have to get back to the hospital. I'll call you as soon as I have news."

"Okay, I'll do the same. Talk to you later." With a last smile, Monica stood and headed out the door, and Brenda picked up her phone to call Jason.

**Palm Beach**

"Aren't you done yet? We only have 35 minutes before the guard comes back." Jason's whisper floated urgently through the darkness, making Spinelli jump with nerves. It was shortly before midnight, and they sat in the shadows of a small wooded area behind an office park. They had spent several nights here already, getting to know the guard's habits while Spinelli figured out the specs of the security system.

After a seemingly endless pause, during which the only response was the rapid tapping of Spinelli's fingers flying around the keyboard, Spinelli finally spoke in a low tone. "Have patience, Stone Cold. The Jackaling process cannot be rushed if Stone Cold desires positive results." Another long pause followed, then an uncharacteristically terse statement. "There. It's done." His laptop clicked shut as he spoke.

"Okay, let's go."

They slipped through the shadows, entering the designated office building through a delivery entrance and heading for the freight elevator. Initially, Jason had wanted to take the stairs, fearing that the movement of the elevator would attract unwanted attention. Spinelli, however, had pointed out that the freight elevator was further away from the guard's station, and had insisted that he could loop the guard station video, masking their movements. He had also pointed out that he could handle the elevators in advance, at the same time as he disarmed the alarm system, whereas the stairs would have to be handled as they went, since the automatic locks weren't run by the building servers. Given that as long as they were in the building, they would be vulnerable to discovery, this was a critical consideration.

They rode in silence to the seventh floor. Once there, they slipped down the hallway to the correct door, where Jason made quick work of the relatively simple lock. _People rely way too much on their alarms_, he thought. As they entered the office, he glanced at the alarm panel to ensure that it was, in fact, disarmed. Spinelli immediately moved to the computer on the desk, turning it on and using a cord he had brought along to connect it to his laptop. The plan was for Spinelli to make what he had called a "mirror copy" of the office's backup server, which should have copies of everything on every computer in the office, for later review. Meanwhile, Jason would check everywhere else.

After considerable thought, Jason had concluded that he should start with the walk-in freezer. He figured the sperm samples would be labeled somehow, maybe indicating a patient's name or the sperm bank they came from. Hopefully, that information would allow him to select and photograph specific files for later review, rather than trying to examine every file now, which would take too long. If necessary, they would break in again tomorrow night to destroy any samples they identified in the files. He headed in the direction of the freezer, based on his memory of the office schematics Spinelli had somehow obtained two days ago.

When he ran his penlight around the freezer door, he was pleased to discover a clipboard attached to the wall outside it, which contained what appeared to be a running inventory of the contents and where they were located in the freezer. The list was surprisingly detailed, considering all the privacy laws, but he supposed that was because only specific staff members were permitted in this part of the office. Still, if he were a patient, he wouldn't be happy to know that just anyone who broke in could get this information, even if the patients were only identified by number. From the list, which was several pages long, he could determine at a glance the type of material stored for each patient – sperm samples or embryos awaiting implantation -- as well as the number of samples checked in, and how many had already been used. He grabbed the list off the clipboard and headed to the file room.

Fortunately, like his list, the files were organized according to patient ID number. Because the file room had no windows, Jason turned on the small lamp at the file clerk's desk, then took a moment to search the drawers. Unsurprisingly, he found the keys to the file cabinets sitting in the top drawer. He shook his head. _People are so predictable._ He wasn't complaining, though, since the keys would speed the process and leave no trace of his presence.

Jason went through the list methodically, choosing a patient file to review, then using the digital camera Spinelli had provided to photograph it before moving on to the next one. After several minutes, Spinelli slipped into the room, carrying his laptop. He whispered, "The Jackal's task is complete. The building guardian is expected to make his rounds in twelve minutes. How may the Jackal assist?"

Jason handed Spinelli the camera. "I'll pull the rest of the files we need; you photograph them."

They worked in silence, with Jason bringing files to Spinelli and returning them to their proper place as soon as Spinelli finished photographing.

Finally, Jason said, "That's it." He waited as Spinelli photographed the last few pages, returned the file to the cabinet, locked it, and returned the keys to the desk drawer. With one last glance around the room to ensure that all was as he had found it, he turned out the light. As they left the room, he whispered, "Wait here," then retraced his route to the freezer to return the list to its clipboard.

At last, their search complete, they made their way back to the office's main door. As Spinelli put a hand on the knob, Jason suddenly clamped his hand on the door, holding it shut. When Spinelli looked at him questioningly, Jason put a finger to his lips and shook his head. A moment later, they heard the guard whistling as he walked his rounds, sensing nothing amiss. When all was quiet again, Spinelli again moved to open the door, but Jason whispered, "Wait till he's back at his desk."

Spinelli nodded, then asked nervously, in a low tone, "Should the Jackal check the lobby cameras?"

"Yeah. We'll go as soon as he's back there."

Spinelli opened his laptop and called up the lobby cameras with a few quick keystrokes. They sat silently for eight more minutes before the guard finally came into sight, then they slipped out of the office, down the freight elevator, and out the delivery entrance. They disappeared back into the shadows where they had started, and Jason waited while Spinelli re-armed the alarm and removed the loop from the guard's video, erasing all electronic traces of their presence.

XXXXXXX

Back in Spinelli's room at their out-of-the-way motel, Jason listened with relief to Brenda's message, followed by Monica's. They had really come through with the plan to get the Quartermaines tested without revealing the real reason to them. He made a mental note to call both women in the morning to let them know he was in agreement with their plan and that they could go ahead and ask Emily for help with it. He decided, however, to wait to give Spinelli the new assignment until after they were finished reviewing all the information they had retrieved from the Palm Beach office. Spinelli sometimes got anxious if he had too much to do at one time.

Jason sat down in the room's only armchair and pulled out the photographs they had taken, which Spinelli had printed for him on the portable printer he had brought along. Meanwhile, Spinelli sat at the desk, working on hacking into the security protecting the information he had copied from the office computer system.

There were twenty-nine paper files in all, some more than twenty pages long, others much shorter. Jason initially scanned them quickly, seeking only two pieces of information: how many samples were purchased and from where. He immediately discarded those that either had come from the wrong place or showed that the wrong number of samples had been purchased.

When he was finished, he had three medium-sized files left. He began to read through them, unsure of what he was looking for, but figuring he would know it when he found it. If it came to it, he could always investigate all three, but he would rather focus on one if possible, since that would likely make for a faster investigation.

An hour later, Spinelli broke the silence. "The Jackal has succeeded in his task. Is there some data in particular that Stone Cold would like to peruse?"

Jason looked up from the file he was reading. "Yeah, I narrowed it down to three patients. See if there's anything on any of them. Start with these." He handed Spinelli two of the files, keeping the one he was in the middle of reading.

Near dawn, Jason closed the last file. He hadn't found anything definitive to eliminate any of the three patients, but he had a gut feeling about one. He wasn't sure exactly why, but something seemed off, somehow. He mentally reviewed her information. Samantha McCall, single, age twenty-eight, had told her doctor that she wanted a blond-haired, blue-eyed donor because it would remind her of her dead fiancé. That seemed sort of creepy to him; he didn't think he wanted a biological child of his to be born to a mother who was obsessed with a dead man.

They were using an in vitro procedure; apparently even with accurate ovulation prediction, the doctors doubted she could get pregnant with a simple insemination. Unfortunately for Jason, the most recent implantation of four embryos had resulted in a positive pregnancy test. Still, on the positive side, she had already miscarried twice, and her doctors seemed skeptical that this time would have a different outcome.

There was also mention in the file that she planned to order additional samples if this pregnancy failed. _Maybe we should head to LA next and destroy the rest of the samples. _It seemed she was determined to have a child … but the notes also indicated that she was adamantly opposed to considering surrogacy. This seemed odd to Jason, because the doctor had apparently told her that she might be unable to maintain a pregnancy herself because of scarring in her reproductive organs. So if she wanted a child badly enough to use an anonymous sperm donor, why wouldn't she also be willing to use a surrogate? _Maybe it's nothing,_ he thought. _Maybe it's a woman thing that a man just wouldn't understand. But it still seems strange …_

The other two patients he considered possible both had spouses, and were using anonymous donors because their spouses were sterile, one from chemotherapy, the other for unknown reasons. They seemed less likely to have chosen a blond-haired, blue-eyed donor, though, because they would likely be trying to match their spouse's physical characteristics. One had dark hair and eyes, while the other had red hair and green eyes. However, both sets of parents had indicated that if forced to choose, medical history and temperament were more important than physical traits, so they couldn't be ruled out completely.

Still, this McCall woman was more than likely the one. And although he and Spinelli had planned to hit the individual clinics first, since any remaining samples there were one step closer to being used, he was suddenly far more concerned with ensuring that this particular woman would not have access to any more of his DNA.

He rubbed a hand over his face, glancing over to where Spinelli slept soundly on the room's only bed. Sighing heavily, he decided to head back to his own room and get a few hours of sleep himself. He left a note on top of the McCall woman's file, in case Spinelli woke before he did, asking him to start gathering information on the woman and to change their travel arrangements as soon as he woke up. _LA first, then Seattle, then Bloomington._ Tomorrow, he would put one of their guys onto getting whatever couldn't be obtained electronically, and as a precaution, he would also have someone get preliminary information on the other two women.

Meanwhile, he and Spinelli would head to Los Angeles.


	10. Chapter 9

_A/N: Sorry for the delay in getting this posted. I was unexpectedly out of town this weekend …_

_You may hate me by a little ways into this chapter … I am the Princess of All That Is Evil! Hehe. If you do, just keep saying the mantra: "Lin has a plan … lin has a plan … lin has a plan" … because I really do!!_

_And BTW: They finally meet … in chapter 10! Heehee!_

_Feedback! Feedback! I need feedback! Hehe!_

Chapter 9

**Port Charles**

A few days later, Brenda looked up from her magazine as Sonny stormed into the penthouse.

"Where's Jason?" he demanded.

Brenda bristled at his abrupt tone. "Hi, honey, nice to see you, too," she said sarcastically. "My day was fine -- thanks so much for asking! How was yours?"

"Brenda, where the hell is Jason?"

"How should _I_ know? I'm not his keeper."

"Don't give me that. You know where he is, and I need to see him _now_, so just tell me."

"Jason had some personal business to take care of. He's out of town."

"Without tellin' me? What kind of business?"

"I told you, it's personal. If he wants you to know, he'll tell you himself. What's your problem, anyway?" At his look, she added, "And don't tell me it's business because things have been quiet lately."

He was prevented from responding by a knock on the door. Without waiting for a response, Max opened the door and announced, "Miss Matthews is here, Mr. C." Courtney rushed over to Sonny before he finished speaking, so Max shrugged at Brenda and withdrew, closing the door behind him. Brenda mentally rolled her eyes.

"Sonny," Courtney said pleadingly, "Just give me a chance to talk to him myself before you start giving him a hard time. I'm sure he'll do the right thing. He loves me, and he'll love our baby."

Brenda could only stare at Courtney, her eyes wide with shock. _What the hell?!_ _Jason tells her flat out that he's never going to love her or want a future with her, and she suddenly turns up pregnant?! _Brenda's eyes narrowed suspiciously as she considered the timing, listening with half an ear to Sonny as she considered what to do. He told Courtney, "You didn't have to follow me back here. I told you I was gonna take care of it, and I will. You and Jason will be married before you know it."

Brenda gasped. "_Excuse_ me?! What the hell gives you the right to make promises for Jason?" She turned to Courtney. "And the timing of this seems _awfully_ convenient. Are you sure you're even pregnant?"

"Cut it out, Brenda," Sonny said sharply. "Courtney doesn't need this right now."

Brenda rolled her eyes again as Courtney turned red and said defensively, "I wouldn't lie about something like this. Of _course_ I'm pregnant. And Jason will be thrilled once he realizes how good we are together."

Brenda shook her head. "You are delusional, Courtney. Jason doesn't love you - he's told you that in every way it can be said, and you still don't get it." She narrowed her eyes at Courtney. "Is this supposed baby even his? 'Cause I don't remember you guys seeing much of each other in the last couple of months."

"Brenda -" Sonny started, but she cut him off.

"Well, didn't it occur to _you_ that she might be trying to trap him?"

Courtney interjected, "I know you don't like me, Brenda, but really, I wouldn't lie about this."

Brenda laughed and said mockingly, "After that stunt you pulled on the plane, I think you'd do whatever it took to trap Jason. It won't work, you know. He'll just resent the hell out of you for trying to make him marry you, and he won't do it anyway. Jason doesn't do anything he doesn't want to do." If Brenda was sure of anything, it was that.

Courtney looked furious, and opened her mouth to yell at Brenda, but before she could get a word out, it was Sonny who said menacingly, "He'll marry her if he knows what's good for him."

Brenda glared at him. "He's your best friend, who has been loyal to you for years, and you're willing to make him hate you over _this_? Remember what happened when the Quartermaines tried to make him do what they wanted? Not only did he _not_ do it, but he dropped every last person involved from his life. And _they're_ related by blood." She swung her narrowed gaze from Sonny to Courtney, who suddenly looked pale and nervous. "And you can bet he's gonna get a paternity test, so if there's any chance you aren't being 100 percent truthful, or aren't 100 percent sure, you might want to rethink things _now_, before you go any further." She turned back to Sonny. "You're both fools if you think there's any possible way you can win this fight."

She walked to the stairs, saying coldly. "I'm taking my daughter to the park. I suggest you think very carefully before you create problems you can't fix."

**West Palm Beach**

Late that afternoon, Jerry Jax frowned at his investigator. _What's this peon's name again? Joe? John?_ he wondered absently, then dismissed the question as unimportant and returned to the issue at hand. "What do you mean, someone else is looking into her background? Who? And why?"

"I'm sorry, Mr. Jax, all we know is that someone is looking, but we haven't been able to trace the inquiry to its source. Until we do, there's no way to determine why." The man smiled nervously.

Jerry's frown deepened. "Why haven't you traced the source?"

"Whoever is investigating Ms. McCall is very discreet and very good at covering their tracks. We would never have known at all if we hadn't tagged every bit of electronic information we found on her with code that automatically notifies us of any hint of activity. And whoever is doing it is making it look like it's a random nerd just hacking because he can."

"But you think it's more than that. Why?"

The investigator smiled proudly. "They're digging as deep as we did. They cracked the false resume in the first two hours, and they've already got four of her aliases as well as the salvage history. They're _really_ good."

Jerry raised an eyebrow. "You need to be better. Otherwise, I'll be forced to find someone else who is."

Shifting nervously, the investigator hurried to reassure his very lucrative client. "No need for that, Mr. Jax. We're working on it, and eventually we'll get there, but it's gonna take some time."

Jerry said nothing for a moment. Then he nodded once and got to his feet, straightening his trousers and tugging his cuffs back into their proper place. He walked to the door; with a hand on the knob he turned back to pin the investigator with a laser glance. "Don't take too long. I'm not known for my patience." The investigator sighed with relief when the door closed behind him.

**Los Angeles**

Jason's cell phone rang as he and Spinelli stepped off the plane. He glanced at the caller ID, sighing when he saw who it was. This was the fifth time Brenda had called him today. He had also had two tearful messages from Courtney and six increasingly agitated voicemails from Sonny. _What is with these people that they can't leave me alone for five minutes?_

Realizing Brenda wouldn't give up until she reached him, he told Spinelli to take care of the car rental, then flipped the phone open and barked, "What do you want, Brenda?"

There was a pause, then she snapped back, "Nice phone manners, Morgan. I'm trying to do you a favor and you're gonna take that attitude? Forget it. Deal with it yourself." She hung up.

Sighing, he called her back. She let it ring so long that he thought she wouldn't answer at all, but just before it switched over to voicemail, she came back on the line and snapped, "What?"

"Look, I'm sorry I was rude. It's just - I've got a lot going on, and between you, Sonny, and Courtney, I've gotten thirteen messages in the last three hours. What's so important that it can't wait until I get back?" She didn't respond right away, and he could almost hear her trying to decide what to say. "Just spit it out, Brenda."

She took a deep breath. "Courtney told Sonny she's pregnant. She's claiming the baby is yours. He's royally pissed and I haven't been able to calm him down."

"That's impossible," Jason said flatly. "There's no way she's pregnant - at least, not with my kid."

"Are you sure? 'Cause she's really insistent about it." He could hear Brenda's distaste for the other woman in her voice.

"Brenda, I haven't touched her in almost two months, and we always used condoms, even though she said she was on the pill. There's no way." God, he hoped not. All he needed now was to be tied to that obtuse idiot for the rest of his life.

"Well, nothing's a hundred percent, and even if it's not true, Sonny believes her."

"Shit." Jason rubbed his forehead. He was getting a headache just thinking about dealing with Sonny in one of his moods. "Like I need _this_ on top of everything else."

Brenda responded by changing the topic. "You sound stressed. Is the trip going okay? Where are you anyway?"

"Yeah, it's fine. We're in LA." He saw Spinelli coming out of the car rental agency and walked over to meet him.

"Oh. Did you get what you needed in Florida and Indiana?"

"There was a change of plans. After Florida, we came straight to LA. We'll hit Indiana on the way home." He followed Spinelli into the lot. When they found the right SUV, he stowed his bag in the back and climbed into the passenger seat, motioning for Spinelli to drive.

"Why? What happened in Florida?" Brenda's tone grew more alert, and Jason could almost see her sit up straighter. His lip quirked up slightly at the concern in her voice.

"Nothing we can't deal with. Don't worry. I just - well, the information I got there made the trip to LA the highest priority right now." Spinelli had finished adjusting the seat and mirrors to his satisfaction. He turned on the GPS and looked at Jason inquiringly. Jason realized he was waiting to be told where he was supposed to go.

"Why? What happened?"

He sighed. "Look, I don't want to get into it on the phone." He cut off her protest. "I'll tell you everything when I get home. Now I have to go before Spinelli gets us lost." He shook his head once at Spinelli, glaring at the hacker to silence his sputtered objection.

"Fine," Brenda said, but he could tell that, as usual, she wasn't happy about having to wait. Still, she promised to keep trying to calm Sonny down, and said she would try to find out if Courtney was really pregnant. He started to ask how she planned to do that, but quickly decided he really didn't want to know. He told her he'd call her later and disconnected.

"Where does Stone Cold wish to begin in the City of Angels?"

"Let's find a place to stay, somewhere near the target. We'll get set up first, and then take it from there." Spinelli nodded, mercifully silent for once, and headed out of the lot.

XXXXXXXX

It turned out to be relatively simple to get into the sperm bank. After two days of watching the place, it had become clear that whoever was in charge was unconcerned with the possibility of a break-in: there was never a guard anywhere in the building; there were no security cameras on the premises; and neither the locks nor the alarm system were any harder to crack than the cybersecurity Spinelli had called "primitive" weeks ago.

They went in at 3 am, because even the busiest parts of LA were somewhat quieter at that hour.

By three-ten, they were inside the offices and, armed with the information Spinelli had found in his initial foray into the computer records, they had located the fourteen unsold vials of Jason Quartermaine's sperm. Jason put these into the bag he had brought along for this purpose, while Spinelli used the computer to alter records. When he was done, the inventory, shipping, and accounts receivable records all showed that the sperm had been sold and shipped five weeks previously to General Hospital in Port Charles, New York. Jason told him not to bother changing GH's records to show receipt of the package, as there was little chance that anyone would dig deep enough for it to matter.

By three-thirty, they were safely back in their rooms at the motel.

By four am, Spinelli was sound asleep; the vials had been emptied, washed thoroughly (just to be sure), and tossed in the dumpster behind the motel; and Jason had returned to his room to nurse a beer while he planned their next move.

By eight am, Jason had woken a very disgruntled Spinelli and told him to arrange the next leg of their journey on the earliest available flight.

By eleven, they had returned the rented SUV and boarded a plane bound for Seattle.

And by 4 pm, they had checked into a discreet little motel near the Seattle fertility clinic, and had begun researching the best and safest ways to get into the office.


	11. Chapter 10

_A/N: Finally … they meet … _

Chapter 10

**Port Charles**

Emily walked into Kelly's and looked around. Spotting her mother and Brenda, she hurried over to their table and sat down.

"Emily, I'm so glad you could come!" Brenda exclaimed.

Emily laughed and said, "Like you would have let me refuse! You've been asking every day for the last week!" She turned to Monica, leaning over to kiss her cheek. "Hi, Mom."

"Hi, Em. I'm glad you could get away." Monica had gotten Jason's message okaying their plan, and had immediately called Emily. Then she had decided she might as well have Brenda come, too; that way, they could both tell Em about Jason's situation and they could get to work right away when Emily agreed to help, as Monica was sure she would. It had taken several days before Emily could clear her busy schedule, however. "Where are the kids?"

"I actually dropped them off to visit Grandfather, since it sounded like you really wanted to make sure he didn't horn in on our meeting. I told him I had a lot of errands to run, so we can take as long as we need to." She paused. "So, Mom, all you said on the phone was that Jason needed help with a project, and that I wasn't to tell anyone, especially the rest of the family. What's going on?"

Monica looked at Brenda, not sure where to begin. Penny approached, and the women ordered quickly before returning to their conversation.

As soon as Penny was out of earshot, Emily repeated her question. "Mom? What's going on with Jason? Is he okay?" After a moment, when it became clear that Monica wasn't prepared to respond, Brenda said, just loud enough for Emily to hear, "We need to organize a drive to have as many people as possible get tested as potential bone marrow donors."

"What? Why?" Emily asked, alarmed. "Is Jason sick or something?"

"He's fine," Monica assured her, having finally found her voice, to ease Emily's worry. "It's just …" she trailed off, and Brenda once again picked up the slack.

"Before the accident, when he lived in LA, Jason was selling his sperm to a sperm bank to finance his lifestyle," Brenda said abruptly.

Emily gasped, stunned. "You're kidding!"

"She's not kidding," Monica assured her. "And he just found out he has a biological child who needs a bone marrow transplant."

"And he wants the family to get tested, but he doesn't want them to know why, so we thought if we organized a huge drive, we could convince them to get tested, but they wouldn't need to know the real reason," Brenda explained.

"Okay. Where do I come in?" Emily asked, intrigued.

"Well," Brenda began, "Jason's gonna get Spinelli to identify a local child who needs a transplant –" she waved a preemptive hand when Emily looked like she wanted to say something, and continued in a rush, "Don't ask how – you don't wanna know. And then you're gonna coincidentally meet the kid's parents, and when you hear about their need, you'll have the bright idea to do a drive."

"How am I gonna meet them?" Emily asked curiously.

"Well, we thought you might decide to spend some time in the pediatric oncology ward, maybe bringing toys or games or something…" Brenda said. "That's the least of our worries – we can hammer out those details later." Emily nodded thoughtfully, considering the idea.

"And then," Monica added, "you'll persuade your father to present the idea to the hospital board, and you'll convince Edward to have ELQ underwrite the cost." Emily smiled at Monica, realizing why she had been invited to participate. Since her own cancer scare, neither man had refused her much of anything, to the point where she sometimes felt guilty at how they spoiled her.

"So, are you in?" Brenda asked, although her gaze was fixed on something happening by the door. "That's odd," she said, almost to herself.

Emily frowned, perplexed, and when Brenda said no more, she voiced the question on her mother's face as well as her own. "What's odd?"

She started to turn and look, but Brenda whispered sharply, "No! Don't look! Don't let on that you saw her!"

"Saw _who_?" Emily persisted, but she kept her voice low.

Monica, who unlike Emily didn't have her back to the door, added quietly, "Do you mean Courtney? Why? What's she doing?" She frowned, perplexed. "Was that AJ with her?" She caught just a glimpse of her son's back as he said something to Courtney and left. She thought curiously that he looked irritated. As Brenda had said, that seemed odd, since as far as she knew, Courtney and AJ didn't even know each other. But based on how irritated AJ had seemed, they must know each other pretty well … Monica barely heard Brenda's next words as she considered whether and how Courtney and AJ might have met, and what, if anything, that might mean.

"Shhhhhhhh! They'll hear you!" Brenda whispered insistently. "Don't worry about it." She watched Courtney leave, then resumed a normal tone and asked again, "Emily, are you on board with our plan or not?"

She realized the question was unnecessary when Emily gave her a testy look.

"Well, of course I'm in! You knew I would be, so why are you even asking?"

"Sorry," Brenda responded, smiling apologetically at Emily after sparing one last glance at the now-empty doorway. "I just wanted to be sure. So, let's get started." The women spent the remainder of their lunch quietly working out the details of their plan.

**Seattle**

Jason sat alone in Joe's Diner, sipping his coffee slowly as he pretended to read the newspaper. He was feeling fortunate that the diner was right across the street from their next target.

As he had for the past three days, Spinelli would take the night shift. He preferred to do his hacking at night anyway, and so far, he had been able to make notes on the clinic's security while sitting in the diner and hacking into the records of every hospital, clinic, and private gynecologist in a two hundred mile radius around Port Charles.

Spinelli had started by searching General Hospital's records for an appropriate candidate to be the poster child for the bone marrow drive that Emily, Monica, and Brenda were organizing. He had found an eight year-old boy with aplastic anemia, and once Jason had the name, he had called Emily with it. While Spinelli was in General Hospital's mainframe, he had also changed their receiving records to show that they had taken delivery of the 14 vials of genetic material that Jason had destroyed. Spinelli's pride, apparently, required that he at least make it difficult for anyone questioning the transaction to determine where it had gone wrong.

Jason had rolled his eyes at that, concluding that Spinelli was bored and needed another task to keep him busy. So he had asked if Spinelli might also be able to get into Courtney's records in the GH mainframe, and find out if she was really pregnant. Upon realizing that Jason suspected he was being set up, Spinelli had decided it wasn't enough to get GH's records, or even to limit his hacking to Courtney's name. He had muttered something about search parameters, asking for Courtney's age, and whether Jason knew her blood type. When Jason admitted he had no idea on either count, Spinelli had decided that Courtney's GH file would be a reliable source for the information he needed for his extensive search. Which explained why even now, the medical records of thirty-two 25-year-old women, with type O negative blood, sat on the table in front of Jason. And Spinelli said he was currently only about half done.

And in addition to all that, Spinelli had been finding some alarming information about Ms. Samantha McCall of West Palm Beach, who appeared to be some sort of con artist with an eye on trapping Jasper Jax, multi-millionaire businessman, into unholy matrimony. Spinelli had further reported that someone else was also interested in Ms. McCall's background, and Spinelli was even now trying to find out who, and why. Jason called Bernie and had him hire a private investigator in West Palm Beach to follow the woman. He had a feeling he would need all the information he could get.

Now, at nine-fifty in the morning, Jason sat alone in the diner, discreetly watching the building across the street. As he took a sip of his coffee, the bell above the door jingled, and Jason felt himself relax ever so slightly as a gorgeous young woman rushed in. "Am I late?" she called to the woman behind the counter.

"No, honey, you're right on time, as always," the older woman smiled.

"Oh, good. I was worried because my watch battery died and it seemed like there was more traffic than usual, so I thought maybe the bus was late." The newcomer bustled into the back as she spoke, coming back moments later without her jacket, tying an apron around her waist.

As he had for the past three days, he watched her from behind his newspaper, wondering why he found her so … interesting. Intriguing, even.

Certainly, she was beautiful, with big blue eyes and curly dark hair that was forever escaping from the loose ponytail she always wore to work, making him itch to slide it behind her ear for her. And she was smiling and laughing all the time, no matter how busy it got. The regular customers, young and old alike, seemed to love her, teasing her and flirting with her until her laughter bubbled across the room, lightening even the most dour expression in the room. Even Jason himself couldn't keep his smile contained at the sound of her laughter. He thought idly that Spinelli's nickname for him was completely inaccurate when this particular brunette was around.

Jason marveled at how anyone could be so seemingly happy with her life and everyone in it. He wished he could capture just a small fraction of that happiness, wanted to bottle it and carry it with him forever. Then he could take it out and relive it, just a little, anytime he wanted. But Jason knew it couldn't be bottled, and even if it could, he had seen and done too much in his life; his darkness would eventually burn out her light.

In any event, every now and then, he wondered if she was _quite_ as happy as she looked. Occasionally, even as she smiled her usual smile, he thought he caught a glimpse of something wistful, maybe even sad, in her eyes, and he found himself wishing he could arrange it so she would never be anything but happy.

She approached him now, asking with a captivating smile, "More coffee?"

He nodded, saying, "Thanks." He was tempted to say more, to try to start a conversation with her, but he reminded himself that he needed to focus on the task at hand, so he just smiled back and said nothing else. He returned his gaze to the newspaper, keeping one eye on happenings across the street.

She returned several times over the next few hours, topping off his coffee, bringing him the sandwich he ordered, asking if she could get him anything else. She never made him feel like he was overstaying his welcome. Even on the first day, before she knew he would insist on giving her a hundred dollar tip, she had made it seem like it was fine with her if he sat there all day.

He knew her schedule by now, was aware that sometime around two, she would disappear into the back and return without the apron, zipping her jacket and calling her goodbyes. Then she would go outside, walk half a block to the bus stop, and, presumably, go home.

He tried not to wonder about her life outside of here. He knew she was married. She wore a wedding ring, and occasionally when a customer got a little too aggressive in his flirtation, she would hold up her left hand and wiggle her fingers, smiling infectiously as she said, "Sorry, I'm married." And that was that, even though the rejection always seemed to make the customer fall even deeper under her spell.

Today, however, when she came out of the back with her jacket on, instead of heading right out as she usually did, she paused to answer her cell phone. For the first time in the three days he had been watching her, she wasn't smiling. She looked – and sounded – nervous. Maybe even scared. Jason found that seeing her that way really annoyed him. He continued to watch her, straining to catch her words, although he had no idea what he thought he would do if he did manage to figure out what – or who -- had her so upset.

"Lucky," she was saying, her tone pleading, "please try to calm down. I'll be home soon and I'll take care of it the minute I get there." Pausing to let him respond, she held the phone away from her, and Jason could hear the shouting coming out of it from where he sat, halfway across the room. She worried at her lower lip with her teeth, and when the shouting paused, she tried again.

"Lucky, if you would just stop yelling at me, I would tell you --" She held the phone away again as the yelling resumed. Jason was glad he couldn't make out the words, because the tone alone was making him want to track down this Lucky whoever-he-was and beat some manners into him. _What kind of stupid-ass name is Lucky, anyway? _he wondered irritably. He was sorely tempted to walk over to her, take the phone out of her hand, and smash it. He restrained himself, however, knowing that while it might make _him_ feel better for a little while, it would more than likely make things worse for _her_.

So he just sat there, watching from behind his newspaper, wishing there was something he could do to help her.

Until, without even the slightest warning, she got angry herself. One minute she was practically cowering away from the phone; the next, he was flabbergasted when she suddenly put two fingers to her mouth and whistled loudly into the receiver. Later, Jason would realize that was the moment she went from being merely "interesting," flew right past "intriguing," and wound up all the way at "irresistible."

For now, he noticed that the shouting had stopped, and before it could resume, she yelled into the phone herself. "Lucky, just shut up and listen to me." Jason could almost feel the man's shock coming through the suddenly-silent phone. Elizabeth continued in a more moderate tone. "I'm at the clinic. The test this morning was positive and I know how much you want a baby, so I came over right away for the procedure. Now, they're calling me, so I have to go."

She hung up, not giving him a chance to respond. Suddenly remembering where she was, she looked around, turning bright red as she realized that all eyes were either on her or studiously avoiding her. She met Jason's stunned gaze briefly, before hers skittered away. She looked over the heads of the assorted diners, forced a carefree smile to her lips, and announced gamely, "Okay, show's over for today. I hope you all enjoyed it. Have a lovely day."

And with that, she turned and marched out, head held high. He barely resisted the most extraordinary and uncharacteristic urge to stand and applaud.

XXXXXXXXX

Elizabeth sighed with relief as she flopped into an empty seat near the front of the bus. She couldn't believe she had just yelled at Lucky over the phone in front of a room full of people.

She would be embarrassed to go back tomorrow, but she would do it anyway, because she was running out of time to save enough money to leave before Lucky found out about the baby. She wondered if the man with the ice blue eyes would be there again tomorrow. It was especially embarrassing that he had witnessed that little scene -- that he had heard her lie to her husband. She had no idea why this was the aspect of the situation that she found hardest to let go of. Whatever her plans for the future, she was still married now, so she shouldn't be concerned with what any man except her husband thought of her.

But she was.

Maybe, she mused, it was because he was so quiet, just reading his newspaper or paging through his files while he sipped coffee into the afternoon.

Or maybe it was the way he was always so polite and respectful toward her, and how he glared at the young men who came in and got fresh with her.

It could be the gorgeous blue eyes, the chiseled face, the sculpted body, or the reluctant smile that appeared so rarely.

Elizabeth changed buses by rote, still trying to figure out what made the man so compelling.

_Or maybe, _she thought wryly, _it's just the hundred dollar tips_.

She had protested the first day that it was too much, but he had told her she deserved it after he kept her table occupied for her whole shift. She had still argued that it wasn't necessary, but he had been intractable. She had finally stopped arguing when he said she could donate it to charity if she wanted, but he wouldn't let her refuse it altogether. She felt a little guilty when she ultimately decided that, at the moment, she and her baby needed charity as much as anyone. But she promised herself that as soon as she got on her feet and saved some money, she would make a big donation to a real charity as he had suggested. After that day, she hadn't argued anymore, just accepted the tip with a smile and sincere, though still mildly uncomfortable, thanks.

So now, including today's tips, she had more than eight hundred dollars hidden in her bathroom vanity, at the bottom of a box of tampons -- the one place she knew Lucky would never look. If Blue Eyes came in for even a few more days, she would certainly be financially set for long enough to get herself settled in an apartment somewhere and find a new job.

She glanced up to see that the bus was approaching her stop, so she pulled the cord to signal the driver, then made her way to the back doors. As she walked the last few blocks home, she put Blue Eyes out of her mind and prepared herself to deal with her husband.


	12. Chapter 11

_A/N: Hehe, you love me now, don't you? Just sayin' ... As always, I love fb ... _

Chapter 11

**Seattle**

Later that evening, Jason met with Spinelli to discuss their reconnaissance on the fertility clinic, as well as Spinelli's progress on the investigations of the McCall woman and Courtney's alleged pregnancy.

Apparently, Spinelli felt certain he had gathered enough information about the clinic's electronic security to go in at any time. When Jason insisted he would need at least another two weeks of surveillance before they finalized their plans, Spinelli had looked at Jason oddly. Jason just ignored him. He would never admit to Spinelli or anyone else that he really just wanted to keep watching the pretty waitress for a while longer. He told himself that he just wanted to make sure she was okay … but he refused to consider why he cared.

Now, Jason asked Spinelli about the research on first the McCall woman and then Courtney, hoping to avoid questions about why he needed so much more surveillance here than anywhere else they had gone, ever.

The distraction tactic worked, as Spinelli became animated in his proud description of his discoveries about Ms. McCall's many aliases and her falsified resume, as well as his new information about the private detective company that was also investigating Ms. McCall. He had even found a picture of the woman – a mugshot, really – from an arrest almost four years ago in San Diego, where she had been charged with the attempted murder of her husband. Spinelli was still working on finding out how those charges had been resolved.

Spinelli had also discovered that the woman was doing a lot of research on ELQ. Jason's stomach knotted at that. Had she somehow learned Jason Quartermaine's identity? Maybe she had given up on that Jax guy and was now planning to scam Jason somehow? Spinelli didn't know for sure, but he had found no evidence of anyone other than him investigating Jason's file at the sperm bank, so it seemed unlikely. Anyway, based on her activity, it appeared that she was particularly interested in obtaining information about Skye, so he supposed it might be a coincidence.

Next, Spinelli turned the topic to his attempts to find records of Courtney's pregnancy, explaining excitedly how he had narrowed down the list of possibilities to something manageable. Jason forced himself to pay attention as Spinelli reported he had found an additional 23 women who matched Courtney's age and blood type. However, having finished his preliminary search, Spinelli had realized they wouldn't want to go through that many files, so he had added more information to the search parameters, using Courtney's medical history from her GH records. He figured that even if Courtney were inclined to lie about some things, she would want her doctors to have an accurate health history. This had eliminated all but eight files, and with just a glance through the list of names Spinelli handed him, Jason had realized Courtney was laughably bad at covering her tracks.

_What kind of idiot uses an alias made up of her mother's first name and her father's last name?_

Apparently, one "Janine Corbin" had visited a struggling New York City hospital last week. The hospital had received a very large anonymous donation yesterday. At first glance through Ms. Corbin's file, it appeared that she was eight weeks pregnant, but Spinelli, ever vigilant to evidence of electronic tampering by anyone other than himself, had found traces that indicated the records had been altered yesterday, on a day when Ms. Corbin had not been to the hospital. Digging deeper, he had discovered that whoever had changed the file had failed to alter all the backups to match. The backups of the same records from earlier in the week clearly showed that she was actually only three weeks pregnant.

Having imparted the necessary information, Spinelli dismissed Jason's simple but heartfelt, "Thanks, Spinelli," with an uncharacteristically silent wave of his hand. He left, taking his laptop with him as he headed over to the diner to take up his post for the night. Jason breathed a sigh of relief as it sank in that Courtney wasn't having his baby, after all. His relief was short-lived, however, as he quickly realized that now he would have to report to Sonny that his angelic little sister was, at best, a bad liar. He could imagine the temper tantrum Sonny would throw at that bit of news.

Maybe he would have Spinelli send the information anonymously to Bernie – or better yet, Brenda --while he and Spinelli were still out of town.

As he lay down, intending to go to sleep, thoughts that he had been keeping at bay since mid-afternoon rose up to plague him. Listening to the conversations around him after the pretty little waitress had left in all her glory, he had learned a few things about her. Apparently, her name was Elizabeth, and if the regulars were to be believed, her husband was an asshole who called her and yelled at her every few days. And apparently, every time he did, she lied to him about where she was and what she was doing.

Frowning in the dark, Jason decided that probably meant that she didn't want the prick to know she had an independent source of income, which hopefully meant she was secretly saving up so she could leave him. He cut off the thought that that asshole might be hurting her physically as well as abusing her verbally, and he didn't let himself explore the question of why her safety and happiness were so important to him. He also refused to consider why the idea of Elizabeth possibly leaving her husband made _him _so happy – after all, he hardly knew her and once he left Seattle, he'd probably never see her again.

His frown deepened at that last thought, and now he didn't permit himself to wonder why that thought made him just as unhappy as the rest of his thoughts about her relationship with her dick of a husband.

He focused instead on how he might be able to help her. The idea of giving her the means to ditch the prick pleased Jason, probably more than it should.

_Maybe tomorrow, I'll double her tip …_

Something else about what he had heard her say to her husband on the phone teased the edges of his mind. He was sure it was important, but he was too tired to figure out what it was. Deciding it would have to wait until tomorrow, he drifted at last into a restless sleep.

XXXXXXXXXXXX

Elizabeth got home to find Lucky's mood had done a 180 since her phone call. He had actually taken initiative and cooked a simple pasta dish and tossed a salad. He smiled at her when she walked in, looking like the boy she had once loved so much. Even now, an echo of that love rippled through her, and she thought briefly that maybe he had been right – maybe a baby really was what they needed to save their marriage. But she held back the news, not trusting this new mood to last, especially if he found out how long she had known she was pregnant.

She forced herself to smile at him. He didn't seem to notice that it didn't reach her eyes. She wondered if his inability to really see her was new, or if it had always been that way and she had just been too blinded by her love for him to notice. He poured himself a glass of wine and handed her some milk, saying happily, "I called and told them I couldn't come in tonight. I thought we could celebrate together. Just think, Elizabeth, nine months from now, we could be bringing our new baby home!" His excitement at the prospect was palpable.

And there it was.

The most important reason she didn't want him to know about the baby was, ironically, because the baby was all he cared about. He didn't really care about her in her own right. _It's all about the baby,_ she thought bitterly. _I'm just an incubator for his precious baby, and I don't even know why he wants it so much._ The milk in her hand was proof positive of his indifference to her feelings – if Lucky really cared about her at all_, _he would realize that she had always hated milk.

But she smiled and clinked her glass with his when he wanted to toast, and she said nothing about her anger and disappointment. _He wouldn't hear me anyway_, she reasoned.

And for the rest of the evening, she pretended to be happy. She made small talk and laughed at his stupid little jokes and pretended to listen as he talked about his day. And most of all, she avoided saying or doing anything that might ruin his unusually pleasant mood.

Until he wanted to cap the evening off by having sex. She just couldn't bring herself to go through the motions of sex, pretending to be happy about it. To get out of it, she said apologetically, "Lucky, you know I want to, but I'm afraid the exertion would decrease my chances of conceiving, so maybe we should wait a few days, just in case."

He frowned. "I don't remember the doctor saying anything about that …"

"Well, we didn't exactly ask, did we? And I know how much this baby means to you, so maybe we shouldn't take any chances. But it's up to you," she added hastily, when he looked suspicious. "If you think it's worth the risk …" she trailed off, unable to bring herself to lie again, to pretend that she still wanted his touch.

He didn't look happy with that but didn't seem able to argue the point. After a moment, he shrugged and said in a deceptively pleasant voice, "Fine. It's nice to see that you're gonna at least _try_ to be a better mother than you are a wife. I'm going out for a while."

Her eyes widened as the barb hit home, but she kept her pleasant smile firmly in place until he turned to leave. _So much for good moods and celebrations,_ she thought sadly. As the door closed behind him, she spoke to the suddenly empty room, "Good night, Lucky."

And once again, she went to bed alone.

XXXXXXXXXXXX

The next day, Jason was uncharacteristically impatient as he sat in his usual booth, waiting for her to arrive. He had found himself unable to let go of his worry about what might have happened when she got home to the asshole. It didn't help that for the first time in the four days he had spent here, she was late.

As he waited for her to arrive, he thought again about what he knew of her. _Elizabeth._ The name suited her somehow – it was classically beautiful and unobtrusively elegant, like her. He snorted as he realized he, the most feared hitman on the east coast, was mentally waxing poetic about a petite slip of a woman. And since when did he think in phrases like "waxing poetic"?

He shook himself from his musings, and pushed the thought aside. _Finally,_ he thought, letting out a relieved breath when she at last rushed through the door at 10:25, calling apologies to her boss and hurrying to catch up on her usual tables. Eventually, she arrived at his table, avoiding his eyes as she asked breathlessly, "More coffee?"

Without pausing to think, he touched her wrist fleetingly instead of answering. When her startled gaze flew to his, he asked softly, "Are you okay?"

Flustered at the strangely lingering heat where his fingers had touched her skin, she groped for words. "What? Yeah, of course, I'm fine. Why wouldn't I --?" She cut herself off, blushing lightly as she realized why he was asking. She bit her lip nervously, looking away, and asked again, "Um, more coffee?"

"Elizabeth." Her eyes jumped back up to his, widening slightly at his use of her name. He held her eyes with his, an intent look on his face. With considerable surprise, he heard his own voice, low and serious: "If anyone is hurting you, or scaring you, or if you want to get away – from anyone at all -- for any reason at all -- I can help you." He paused for emphasis, touched her hand briefly once more as he vowed, "I _will_ help you, no questions asked, and with no strings." Another pause, as his gaze grew even more intense. "All you have to do is say the word, and no one will find you unless you want them to."

Her shock was written on her face; her doubt sounded in her voice. "But – but you don't even know me," she stammered in soft voice. "N-not really. W-why would you help me like that?" A pause as she visibly gathered her composure, then, with the same forced brightness he had seen yesterday, "Not that I need help, of course, but why would you even offer to help a complete stranger like that? What if I'm a murderer or something?"

He almost laughed at the irony of that last question, posed to him, of all people. "You're not," he said confidently. He grew serious again, thinking for a moment, then shifted in his seat, deciding to be honest. "I -- I don't really know why, exactly." At her skeptically raised brow, he listed the reasons he could identify, in an urgent near-whisper. "Because I can. Because I have a sister. Because you need it. Because you _deserve_ it."

She protested, "You don't know that." She started to turn away, but this time he gently clasped her hand, stopping her, but leaving his grasp loose so that she wouldn't feel trapped.

"Yes, I do," he insisted, still softly, careful not to draw undue attention.

She nearly squeaked her whispered response. "How could you possibly know that?"

He captured and held her gaze with his eyes, speaking in a low and urgent tone, as though he could make her believe him by sheer force of will. "You treat people with respect. Always, no matter how difficult they are, no matter how unreasonable. You deserve that, too. Total respect, always, from everyone. No matter who they are, and no matter what you've done or not done." She tugged gently, so he let go of her hand, not wanting to scare her. But as she stepped away from the table, he said, "Just think about it and let me know. The offer is always open."

She glanced back over her shoulder at him, looked for a moment like she wanted to say something more. But instead, she just gave him a grateful half-smile and turned to go back to work.


	13. Chapter 12

_A/N: Thanks for reading ... enjoy!_

Chapter 12

**Port Charles**

Emily knocked softly on her father's office door, waiting until she heard him call out, "Come in," before swinging the door inward.

"Hi, Dad, do you have a minute?"

Alan looked up with a delighted smile. "For you? Always. What's up?"

"Well, I don't know if I mentioned that I had started visiting some of Steven's patients, just trying to cheer them up, bringing them games and stuff, you know?"

"No, but I think it's wonderful. The sight of you is enough to brighten anyone's day, and the children in the pediatrics ward could use a little fun." He smiled again, and she smiled back because he was so sincere and certain in his faith in her.

"Well, I was talking to the parents of one of the boys. His name is Justin. He's only 8, and he has aplastic anemia that isn't responding to treatment. Those poor parents are just so upset because he needs a bone marrow transplant, and they haven't been able to find a match." She paused, looking at him, gauging his reaction.

Alan frowned thoughtfully. "I'm sorry to hear that, Em, but I'm not sure why you're telling me this. Is there something you want me to do?"

"Well, I was just thinking … he's probably not the only child who needs bone marrow, right?"

He nodded. "Well, yes, that's true. There's always a shortage of donors. But I'm still not following."

She smiled and said, "I'm getting there, Dad. I got to thinking, wouldn't it be great if we could find a way to get a lot of people tested? It would give those parents, and maybe some other people, some hope, and maybe even save some lives." She grew more animated as she spoke, and she finished in a rush. "So I was thinking about how we might do that, and I thought, what if we publicized his story and held a bone marrow drive right here at General Hospital? Maybe even see if Mercy wants to do a joint thing. It would be so great to be able to help so many people, wouldn't it? What do you think?"

"Well, it's certainly a wonderful idea, and I wish we could do it, but it would be really expensive. With our current budget, I'm not sure how we would pay for it. And if you really want to have him as the poster child, Justin's parents would have to agree, of course."

"If there was a chance it would save their son's life, I'm sure they would agree. And, well, I was thinking maybe we could get corporate sponsors or something." Emily grinned wickedly. "I bet I could convince Grandfather to underwrite some of the cost."

He laughed. "I bet you could. You know Father would do anything for you."

She grinned back at him for a moment, then sobered. "Seriously, Dad, I was lucky – I responded to the chemo and radiation. I just keep imagining what it would feel like if it was one of my children, and there was nothing I could do. I just think that since I'm – _we're_ -- in a position to help them, we should do what we can."

"All right, honey, if you can get the parents to agree, and find some corporate sponsorship for at least some of the cost, I'll talk to the board at the next meeting."

She smiled her appreciation, "That would be great, Dad." When his smile grew, she decided it wouldn't hurt to push him a little further. "Um, when is that, exactly?"

He paged through his calendar. "Here it is… March 25th."

"Wow. Um, okay. But, well, that's kind of a long way away, and I was kinda hoping we could get the ball rolling on this quickly. The sooner we get started, the better chance he'll have."

He laughed and held up a hand in surrender. "All right, then, as soon as you talk to Father, let me know and I'll call an emergency board meeting. How's that?"

"That's great, Dad! I knew I could count on you."

Emily bounced up from her chair, leaned across the desk to kiss his cheek, and dashed out of the office, calling over her shoulder, "See you later, Dad! Love you!"

"I love you, too," he called after her, shaking his head in amusement.

XXXXXXXXXX

Later that afternoon, Emily let herself back into the mansion. She paused in the entryway, listening for the sound of her children. Hearing their laughter in the living room, she opened the doors to find the usually grumpy and staid Edward lying on his back in the middle of the floor, laughing as her children tumbled all over him. She watched for a moment, shaking her head in wonder at how Edward could be so curmudgeonly with everyone else, but so much fun with her kids. Reginald came to stand next to her, sharing a bemused look with Emily at the sight of Edward rolling around on the floor in his shirtsleeves, his tie loosened and his suit jacket tossed carelessly on the arm of the sofa.

Fearing he would tire himself out, Emily finally decided she had to intervene.

"Paige and Jack Webber! What are you doing to your great-grandfather?" she called over the din of squeals and giggling. Two-year-old Jack jumped off Edward at the sound of her voice and ran to her, demanding, "Up, Momma! Jack want up!" She lifted him, laughing with delight as he said, "Jack give Momma squeezy hug!" and proceeded to do just that.

"Hi, Mommy!" Paige yelled, shrieking with laughter as Edward took advantage of her distraction by lifting her off him and holding her in the air high above his head. She spread her arms wide and shouted, "Look, Mommy, I'm a plane!"

Emily laughed, "I can see that, sweetheart, but Mommy needs to talk to Great-Grandpa now. Maybe Reginald can take you into the kitchen to see what Cook has for a snack."

"Yay! Snacks!" Paige yelled as Edward lowered her carefully to the floor. She ran to her mother, grabbing Jack's hand as Emily put him back on his feet. "Come on, Jack, Reg'nal', let's go get snacks!"

"Inside voices, please!" Emily called futilely, "And slow down!" She sighed as they disappeared, seemingly without having heard a word. She turned back to her grandfather, who was straightening his hair as he climbed to his feet.

"Oh, Emily, dear, you're back. Those great-grandchildren of mine are so smart. I'm so pleased that ELQ will be in good hands after I'm gone." He made a show of putting his suit jacket on and fixing his tie.

"Grandfather," Emily said patiently, rolling her eyes, "you aren't going to force them to join the family business…"

"Nonsense, dear," Edward replied smugly, "Who says I would have to force them? I'm sure one of them will have the good sense to want to run ELQ." Seeing she was about to protest some more, he quickly changed the subject. "Now, tell me, dear, what can your old grandfather do for you today?"

She laughed at his lack of subtlety, but allowed him to get away with distracting her, since a change of topic suited her purpose anyway. "Well, I was hoping you – or actually ELQ – would do something for me."

"Of course, my dear, anything you need. How can we help you?"

"Well, I was hoping that ELQ would underwrite the cost of a bone marrow drive at General Hospital."

"A bone marrow drive?" he frowned, perplexed. "What's that?"

"It's where we get a whole lot of people to get their bone marrow tested and entered into the National Bone Marrow Registry, in hopes that people who need transplants will find a matching donor."

"Who needs bone marrow transplants? You're not sick again, are you?" He looked frightened, so she hastened to reassure him, although she wasn't entirely displeased that he was remembering his own fear and grief when he thought she might be dying. Not that she wanted him worried, but if it softened him toward her request, a few short moments of worry could work in her favor.

"No, I'm fine, Grandfather. But one of Steven's patients needs a transplant, and none of his relatives match. And I couldn't help thinking about how I would feel if it were one of my kids." Since that line had worked so well with her father, Emily had decided to stick with it now. And besides, it was true.

He smiled at her, his relief evident as he hastened to assure her. "I'm so relieved that you're all right, Emily, dear. Do you have a budget I can present to the board?" She smiled, knowing she had won, and pulled out the information Monica had pulled together for her.

XXXXXXXX

Sam shivered as she stepped out of the Port Charles airport into the chilly winter air, looking around for a cab. _Why would anyone live here in their down parkas when they could be wearing shorts in Florida?_ she wondered irritably. _When I marry Jax, I'll make sure I never have to put on a heavy jacket again._

She had decided to come to Port Charles once she had learned all she could about Skye Quartermaine. Jax had been spending so much time here that she hadn't seen him at all since that awful lunch last month. And now that she was nearing the magic three month mark in her pregnancy, she wanted to be where Jax was so she could tell him about the baby. She had it all planned – exactly what she would say to ensure that Jax would react the way she wanted him to – with a proposal. She would say that she was sorry about the inconvenient timing, and she hoped it wouldn't interfere with his new relationship, but she thought he had a right to know about his baby, and to hear it from her in person.

A shiver that had nothing to do with the cold ran down her spine, and she knew before he spoke in her ear that Jerry had somehow followed her here. _How the hell did he know? He must be having me watched. _"Hello, darling, what a surprise running into you here. Can I give you a lift?"

She wanted to stamp her foot in frustration, but instead she turned to smile at him, saying, "Yes, what a surprise. And no, I don't need a ride. I was just going to get a cab. What brings you to New York?"

"Why, Jax's wedding, of course," he smirked, knowing by the slight widening of her eyes that the wedding was news to her. "Didn't you see the announcement? I'm the best man, naturally. And darling, Port Charles has very few cabs. You could be waiting for hours. No, I really must insist you come with me." He picked up her bag and walked away, heading for a nearby limo. When she didn't move right away, he tossed over his shoulder, "Come, now, darling, let's get you settled."

Realizing she had no choice, Sam reluctantly followed him and slid into the car. She turned to face him as he followed her. "So, tell me, Jerry, when's the wedding?" She had to know how much time she had to get it called off.

When he replied, she wanted to smack the smugness right out of his voice, but it was his words that chilled her to the bone. "Oh, didn't Jax tell you? It's next week, on Valentine's Day. Now, perhaps we can talk about what you're doing here, since you obviously aren't here for the wedding."

**Seattle**

Toward the end of her shift, the diner grew quiet, with only a few customers remaining. Blue Eyes was at his usual table near the window, and a family was seated at a booth in the back corner. With little to keep her occupied, Elizabeth kept thinking about the offer Blue Eyes had made her. _And how ridiculous is it that he's offering to get me out of here and I don't even know his name?_ The thought made her laugh out loud, which she realized only when she saw her boss looking at her oddly. "Sorry, I was just thinking about something."

"Well, that's obvious. Care to share the joke?"

"I was just thinking that people are really unpredictable, you know?" Her boss looked confused, so she covered by saying, "After yelling at me on the phone, Lucky was in a really good mood by the time I got home."

Instead of smiling back, the older woman frowned, "Honey, I'm worried about you. He sounds so volatile. It can't be good for you, or the baby." Elizabeth noticed Blue Eyes out of the corner of her eye, as his posture seemed to become more alert. She briefly wondered if he was listening, but his eyes remained on the newspaper he was reading, so she decided he must have read something that caught his interest. She returned her attention to Elaine. "And, honey, from what you said to him, it sounds like he doesn't know you're expecting?"

Elizabeth blushed and lowered her voice as she answered, "No, I think you're right about his volatility, and I'm actually planning to leave him as soon as your daughter comes back to work. I'm gonna move away from Seattle and start fresh with my baby. That's why he can't know about my working here. He doesn't want me working, and I don't want him to find out I have money of my own."

"Oh, Elizabeth, I think you're making the right choice leaving him. But are you sure you want to wait? And where are you gonna go? Do you have family somewhere that can help you?"

Elizabeth could swear she felt Blue Eyes stiffen again, but when she glanced at him discreetly, he still seemed intent on reading the newspaper. She relaxed again, answering Elaine sadly, "My family basically cut me off when I started seeing Lucky, so I'm not sure they'll want to hear from me now. I was thinking I might try to call my brother and his wife, but I don't know. They have little kids and they're both doctors, so I'm sure they're really busy. They don't need to hear from a screwed up little sister that he doesn't even like."

"But, honey, you're gonna need help with the baby. It's hard to be a single parent even if you have family around to support you. Besides, babies have a way of bringing families together. Do they live around here?"

"No, they're in New York somewhere, Port – " she paused, thinking, then shrugged unconcernedly. "Port-something is the name of the town." She once again got the impression that Blue Eyes was startled by something, but a glance showed he was still engrossed in his paper. "I have it at home." She sighed. "I just don't think he'll want to see me. But don't worry," she added brightly, "I'm sure I'll figure something out." She turned to head back into the kitchen, pausing in the doorway when Elaine spoke behind her once more.

"Okay, honey, but if you decide you need to get away sooner than you planned – if he gets worse, or if you start to show, or whatever -- do it. Just call me and let me know you're okay. Or if you need a place to stay, or anything, please come to me, okay? And think about calling your brother. Please?" Elizabeth nodded, smiling gratefully at her friend, and disappeared into the kitchen.

Later, after Elizabeth had gone home, Jason sat thinking about the conversation he had, indeed, been straining to hear_. So my Elizabeth is pregnant, planning to leave her husband, and estranged from her family. Wait a minute… __**my **__Elizabeth? Where did that come from? _

He pushed the thought aside and returned to the problem at hand. He was now even more pleased that he had persuaded her to accept his outrageously large tips – she would definitely need the money. He drummed his fingers against the table top, considering what to do to help her. He doubted she would ask him for help, thought she probably wouldn't accept his help no matter how persistently he offered. If she wouldn't even call her brother, she certainly wouldn't let a virtual stranger help her escape.

That meant if he wanted to help her, he had to find out more about her. Maybe he could find her family and persuade them to get in touch with her. But first he had to find out who she was, who _they_ were, and _where_ they were. And he had to make sure they would be good to her. Wouldn't it be ironic if Port-something, New York turned out to be Port Charles?

Jason picked up his cell phone and punched in a number. When a voice came on the line, he said without preamble, "I need you in Seattle. Get the first flight out, call me when you land, and take a cab to Joe's Diner in Capitol Hill. I'll meet you here and give you the details then."

"Yeah, okay, whatever you need, man."

Satisfied that he would soon have all the information he needed to help his pretty little waitress, Jason returned his attention to the clinic across the street.


	14. Chapter 13

_A/N: So, it seems I surprised a few people with the reveal of Emily and Steven's relationship ... but don't feel dumb, because I purposely didn't make it clear earlier -- I felt the story would build better this way ... and anyway, I'm just evil like that :P ... Thanks, as always, for your feedback ... you really have no idea how much it means to me that you are enjoying my little story as much as I am! It'll still be a few more chapters before we move on from Seattle, but we're getting there ... and fun stuff is coming in the meantime, I promise! Ok, 'nuff said ... here we go ..._ ;)

**Chapter 13**

**Port Charles**

"Jax?" Skye Quartermaine leaned over to kiss her fiancé as she joined him at the bar of the Metro Court Hotel. "You're a million miles away. What's going on?"

He smiled at her, closing his cell phone and slipping it into his pocket. "Skye, you look beautiful, as always. Your usual?" At her nod, he signaled the bartender, who efficiently produced a club soda with a twist. "I was just listening to a message from my brother. It seems he was able to juggle his schedule a bit, so he came in a few days early for the wedding. He wants to stop by to talk to me. He says he has news."

She smiled. "Oh, Jax, I'm so glad he could make it. I know how much it means to you to have him there. Do you want to call him and ask if he wants to join us for dinner?"

"Is that okay with you? He said it was important."

"Sure, it's fine." Jax pulled his phone back out and made the call. He hung up moments later, saying, "Jerry sends his love and says he has a few things to take care of, but he'll join us for dessert in a bit."

"Okay, that'll be nice. Have you heard from Lady Jane?"

"Yes, she'll be flying in day after tomorrow. She says she can't wait to meet you. With all that Jerry and I have told her, she says she loves you already."

"Well, I can't wait to meet her, either. Although I hope you've prepared her adequately for the chaos of my family."

He laughed, "Don't worry. She can hold her own with the worst of them."

She smiled. "Well, I hope so. They can be a bit much, as you know." She stood and picked up her drink. "Shall we see if our table is ready?"

XXXXXXXX

Sam sat in the limo, covertly watching Jerry as she tried to determine who he was on the phone with. She hoped he didn't know as much as she was afraid he did.

She hoped he hadn't already told Jax about her past.

He concluded his call and put away his cell phone before turning to look at her. "So, Samantha, darling, you never did say what brings you to Port Charles in the middle of a cold spell."

She smiled sunnily and said smoothly, "Well, Jax and I were planning a charity event in Florida, but he hasn't been able to get down there lately." That much was almost true, as far as it went. She and Jax _had_ been talking about planning a dinner to benefit children's charities before she had gotten pregnant. They had talked about hosting it in the spring, but nothing definite had ever been decided. "I guess he's been busy with the wedding, but some decisions need to be made if we're gonna pull it off so I need to talk to him. Since he apparently couldn't come to me, I came to him."

Jerry didn't immediately respond. He just looked at her thoughtfully for several minutes, tapping a finger absently against his upper lip. Finally, he said, "Well, I doubt it's anything that benign, darling, but that's easy enough to check on. And since you're here, why don't you come to the wedding as my date?"

Sam was startled at the invitation. "Why would you want me there? You don't even _like_ me."

"It wouldn't hurt you to realize that Jax is _quite_ taken now, so whatever scheme you're working on won't succeed."

Sam frowned, giving him her best perplexed look. "Jerry, you really have a very vivid imagination. For the millionth time, I'm not working on any scheme."

He laughed without humor. "Of course you are, darling, because you don't know when to cut your losses and move on. But that's all right, because really, it wouldn't be any fun for me if you just gave up and went away. No, darling, I really think you ought to come to the wedding with me. It will help you to rejoin the real world, where Jax is going his way, and _you_ are going yours." He paused, waiting for a response. Getting none, he added, "Now, what name shall I have them put on the place card?"

"What do you mean, what name? You know my name." Sam's heart was pounding at his implication, but she tried to brazen it out.

"Well, Samantha McCall would be the obvious choice, but I thought you might be nostalgic for Angela Munroe, or perhaps you prefer Sandra McIntire? Or one of the other aliases you've used so advantageously over the years?"

"Jerry, I really don't know where you are getting your information, but I've never heard of any Angela McIntire or Sandra Munroe." Sam hoped against hope that her deliberate mixing of the names would persuade him they were unfamiliar to her. "And I have no need for an alias; I have a perfectly good name of my own."

He laughed again. "Well, darling, I suppose one must give you points for persistence, but really, do you honestly believe I would mention this to you if I had no proof?"

Sam sighed heavily, "I don't know what proof you think you have, but you're still wrong about me. I am Samantha McCall, that's the only name I have, and Jax is my friend, not some kind of mark or whatever."

Jerry sighed himself, "Keep telling me that, darling, and you might even convince yourself. But I know what I know. And _you_ know that's plenty. So watch yourself, darling. I know I will be." The limo came to a stop, and Jerry smiled. Without giving her an opportunity to respond, he said, "Ah, here we are now. The Metro Court. Would you like me to walk you in and help you get settled?" At her fulminating look, he smiled and continued, "You wound me, darling. Well, all right, I suppose I'll say good night here, then. I'll ring you tomorrow about plans for the wedding. Shall I give Jax and Skye your love when I see them later?"

Sam moved quickly to exit the limo when the chauffeur opened the door for her. "Don't do me any favors, Jerry. Good night."

He laughed. "Good night, then, darling. See you soon." Sam closed the door on the friendly phrase, noting that in his voice, it sounded more like a threat than a promise.

Jerry waited until she was out of sight, then leaned over and let himself out of the car. He said to the chauffeur, "I won't be needing you again tonight." With that, he entered the hotel himself, and headed straight for the elevators. Once there, he turned and winked at the attractive young desk clerk. She gave him a small smile and an almost imperceptible nod, then returned her attention to Sam, who had finished signing the registration sheet. _Excellent,_ he thought, stepping on the elevator and pushing the button for the top floor restaurant. _Everything is falling into place._ _Ms. McCall won't know what hit her._

XXXXXXXXXXX

Jax stood to greet Jerry as he approached the table. Jerry shook his extended hand with a smile, clapping him on the shoulder, then leaned down to kiss Skye's cheek as Jax said, "Jerry, I was surprised you were able to get here so early."

Jerry laughed with genuine amusement. "Skye, darling, you look lovely, as always." He turned back to Jax. "I juggled some things. As best man, I thought you might need me here sooner than later. If nothing else, I can get to know your beautiful bride a bit better, and spend some time with Mum when she arrives."

"Well, Skye and her family have all the arrangements under control, but you know I'm always glad to see you. Sit down, sit down. You said you've eaten?" Jax raised a finger as Jerry settled himself, and the waitress immediately approached.

"Yes, I had a snack on the plane. I'll just have some coffee," Jerry told her.

They made small talk until the waitress returned with Jerry's coffee. Jerry added a dollop of cream and took a sip, nodding in approval. He said to Jax, "So, you'll never guess who I ran into at the airport."

"Who?" Jax asked curiously, unconcerned.

"Your old friend, Samantha McCall." Jax's eyes flared with surprise. Jerry's gaze encompassed both Skye and Jax. "I hope you don't mind, but I invited her to be my date for the wedding."

Jax frowned. "I thought you didn't like her?"

"I don't," Jerry replied bluntly.

Skye asked, bemused, "You invited someone you don't like to be your date for our wedding?"

Jax asked, "What's she doing in Port Charles, anyway?"

Jerry answered Jax first. "She says you were working together on a charity event, and since you haven't been back to Florida recently, she needed to come see you about it."

Jax's frown deepened, "Well, we did talk about putting something together in the spring, but nothing was ever definite, and I have other priorities now." He smiled, running a hand down Skye's arm and clasping her hand.

Jerry sighed. "I suspected as much. I know you like her, Jax, but you really ought to take my word on it: she's trouble." He looked at Skye. "I invited her to the wedding because I think she's harboring fantasies that Jax will leave you and decide to marry her. And she's got a long history of cons and schemes, so I suspect she's up to something."

Skye smiled at Jax and asked humorously, "Should I be concerned?"

Jax laughed and leaned over to kiss her. "You know you have nothing to worry about. I told you about Sam, remember? My friend from Florida? Jerry has this crazy idea that she's not who she pretends to be or something, but she seemed genuinely happy for me when I told her about you."

Skye rolled her eyes. "Jax, you know I adore you, but are you sure you're not seeing what you want to see? In all the years I've known him, Jerry's never been wrong in his instincts about anyone." Turning back to Jerry, she raised an eyebrow and added, "But I'm still not clear on why you invited her to come with you to the wedding, especially if you think she's here to cause trouble."

Jerry added, "Well, I don't want you to worry, Skye, darling. It's clear that Jax adores you, so I'm not concerned that she'll get anywhere in her scheme. But better safe than sorry, you know, and to put a fine point on it, if I keep her close, I'll be able to head off any trouble she tries to cook up, so you won't have to deal with it. You know what they say about keeping enemies close …" He smiled reassuringly.

"I think you're both worrying for nothing," Jax said confidently, "but if you want to waste your time keeping an eye on her, knock yourself out." He laughed as another thought occurred to him, "Hey, maybe if you spend enough time with her, you'll discover you like her, after all. Weddings can be very romantic, you know."

Jerry laughed at that. "I wouldn't hold my breath, little brother."

**Seattle**

Jason's newest backup arrived at the diner a little before 6. Jason watched him get out of the cab and scan the area, probably out of habit, he supposed, since a threat was unlikely here. They were far from home and under the radar, but Jason supposed the habits of a lifetime couldn't be suppressed.

He waited until his friend slid into the seat opposite him, nodding a greeting, then said, "Thanks for coming. You eat?"

Johnny O'Brien nodded back to acknowledge Jason's thanks, and said only, "I could eat."

"They do great burgers," Jason offered. Johnny nodded, and when the waiter came by, he ordered a burger with the works and an iced tea.

"So, what are we doing here?" Johnny asked.

Jason rubbed a hand over his forehead and sighed heavily. "It's a long story." He paused, deciding how much to tell Johnny. Finally, he said, "Look, basically, I need you to get me all the information you can about a woman who works here."

"Why?" Johnny asked bluntly. "What'd she do to piss you off?"

Jason looked startled. "No, it's not like that. She needs help, but she's too stubborn to take it, so I need to know as much as possible about her so I can figure out how to help her."

Johnny stared at Jason, speechless for a moment. He registered that Jason Morgan, the man Spinelli so aptly called 'Stone Cold,' was actually _blushing_. Was Seattle some kind of alternate universe? Finally, he asked carefully, "And this is _your_ problem … why?"

Jason glared icily. "Because I'm making it my problem." And really, Johnny thought, that said it all.

"Okay, tell me what you know so far." He pulled out a small notebook and a pen.

"Her name is Elizabeth. She's been working here a few weeks, lunchtime shift. She takes a bus to get here. She has a husband named Lucky, who's an asshole."

When he realized that Jason had stopped speaking and didn't plan to say anything else, Johnny frowned. "That's it?"

"Yeah." Jason rubbed a hand over his face again. "I know it's not much to go on, but you can do it, right?" Only because Johnny knew Jason so well did he recognize the anxiety in his voice.

Johnny sighed. "It'll prob'ly take a coupla days, but yeah. I don't suppose you have a picture?"

"No. Just come in for lunch tomorrow. I'm sure she'll be here. She has big blue eyes and curly brown hair, and she's small, maybe five-two or so." He paused, adding quietly, "I don't want her to connect you to me, and I don't want her to know you're investigating. If you come in around 1:15, you can probably follow her when she leaves …" He saw the waiter come out of the kitchen with Johnny's food, and let his voice trail off to avoid being overheard.

Johnny said, "Okay, I'll take care of it. Just one more thing, though." Jason raised an eyebrow in question. "What do I tell Sonny when he wants to know where I am?"


	15. Chapter 14

_A/N: Thanks, as always, for feedback :) Other than that, nothing much to say here ... enjoy!!_

**Chapter 14**

**Seattle**

After the lunch rush the next day, Jason sat at his usual booth, sipping his coffee. He covertly watched Elizabeth as she bustled around the diner. Almost two hours ago, he had stopped pretending, even to himself, that he was paying any attention to the clinic across the street. He wasn't sure what he would say to Spinelli about why he still needed to keep doing surveillance, when he hadn't learned anything new about the clinic for the last two days. But he could always shut down Spinelli's questions with a look, so he wasn't actually focusing on that right now, either. Instead, he was considering how to ask Elizabeth the questions that were chasing themselves around in his mind.

She came over and asked, "More coffee?"

"Sure, thanks." He smiled at her, and was inordinately pleased when she blushed a little and smiled back. When she turned to go, he said, "How are you today?" He glanced at the counter, where Johnny sat with his back to Jason. It was silly, he knew, since Johnny had probably already figured out that Jason's interest in the woman was anything but casual – why else would he be asking Johnny to investigate her? Nevertheless, he didn't want Johnny or anyone else listening in on their conversation, so he kept his voice low.

She turned back and her smile widened. She said, "Great, how are you?"

He grinned. "I'm great." He paused, growing serious. He didn't want to upset her, but he needed to know. "H - have you thought any more about what we talked about yesterday?"

She said, "W-were you really serious about that? I mean, you don't even know me."

He nodded, and said, "We covered that yesterday. It doesn't matter."

"Okay, fine, you don't seem to care that you don't know me, but _I_ still don't know _you_," she pointed out reasonably. "I don't even know your name. So why should I trust you?"

He smiled again. "Maybe you shouldn't." He held out his hand. "I'm Jason Morgan. I live in upstate New York. I'm a coffee importer. I'm visiting Seattle on personal business. I don't like bullies. I have a sister, and I would _kill _any man who talked to her the way that guy talked to you." She opened her mouth to protest, but he shook his head, and said, "Don't even try to tell me the guy on the phone wasn't trying to bully you. I heard him."

She said, "Fine, he can be a bit of a bully sometimes." Elizabeth ignored the twinge of guilt she felt at the disloyal statement, and continued, "Nice to meet you, Jason. Look, I appreciate the offer, but everything is fine. I'm okay, _really_. I don't need help. Things are fine." Her eyes pleaded with him to let the subject drop.

He sighed at the overly intense protest, but decided to keep things light. He was afraid she would leave if he pressed her on the issue, so he changed the subject. "I've decided to double your tip today."

"_What_?" Her reaction was extreme, in his opinion, as though he had said he had decided to shoot up a local elementary school rather than just give her a 200 dollar tip. "You can't do _that_! You're tipping me way too much already!"

"My money, my decision," was his only response.

"No. Absolutely not. I won't take it." She was growing louder in her frustration, and Jason spared a glance at Johnny, whose posture had become more alert. Even as he watched, Johnny casually turned to look at Jason. When he realized Jason was looking in his direction, he rolled his eyes, which Jason studiously ignored.

He focused on discussing things with Elizabeth. "Yes, you will. I've been taking up this table for your whole shift every day all week."

"No, I won't. A hundred dollar tip is already ridiculous, I won't take more."

He sighed. "You're right." She seemed relieved at his agreement, until he said, "It's ridiculously low, considering how much time I've been spending here. Actually, now that I think about it, I should probably triple it."

"_What_? You can't do that! That's outrageous! It's completely insane! Mr. Morgan, you can't--"

"Jason," he interrupted.

"What?" She seemed flustered by the sudden change of topic.

"My name is Jason. And I'm increasing your tip one way or the other. Do you want me to double it or triple it?"

"Mr. –" At his look, she quickly amended, "Jason, you can't increase my tip and that's final."

"It's already done," he insisted. "The only thing up for discussion is the amount of the increase." She gave him a frustrated look, leading him to give her a charming smile. She really was irresistible when she got all worked up. "Just think how happy your favorite charity will be."

"No! It's ridiculous, Jason. I _won't_ take it, and you can't make me!" She blushed, apparently embarrassed to realize she sounded more like a toddler than an adult. Out of the corner of his eye, Jason saw that Johnny had turned away again, his shoulders shaking with silent laughter.

Jason glared ineffectually at Johnny's back, then returned his attention to the waitress, giving her another charming smile. "I don't need the money. Whether you keep it or give it away, it'll be with someone who needs it more than I do." She glared at him, so he grew serious and asked. "You want the truth?"

"Yes, I do," she huffed.

"Okay, here it is," he said quietly. "I don't want to upset you, but from what I can tell, you're married to a bully and you won't let me get you away from him. I _need_ to do something for you, and not just for _you_, but for _me_, because _I_ can't stand the thought of you being trapped in a marriage like that. So the only thing I can do is give you money that makes no difference to me, but could make a lot of difference to you." She started to protest again, but he stopped her by grabbing her hand and squeezing it gently as he held her gaze locked with his. "I'm not trying to insult you. I just – I need to know that your options aren't limited by a lack of funds, not when I can correct that without feeling any strain at all. Please let me do that for you." He saw her indecision as she nibbled on her lower lip. "Please," he said again, this time in an intense whisper.

Finally, she dropped her gaze. "You're not gonna let this go, are you?" He shook his head once, sharply. She sighed. "I suppose, if it's that important to you, I would be willing to take the money, but only as a loan." She looked up and met his gaze again. "But I'm going to repay you someday, I promise."

He shook his head again. "It's not necessary," she started to shake her head, so he continued quickly, "but if you really want to repay me, give it to a charity or to someone else that you think needs it. I don't."

She sighed again. "All right, I guess I can live with that."

"Good." He let go of her hand, hiding his satisfied smile until she turned away. He continued to watch her as she went back to work. When she finally went into the back to get ready to leave, he drained his coffee and stood. Since he was no longer pretending to be doing surveillance on anything but Elizabeth, there was no need to stay now that she was heading home. He pulled money from his pocket and placed it carefully under his empty mug. He decided she would probably be pissed when she realized he had actually quadrupled her tip, but he didn't care. She could yell at him tomorrow.

In fact, he was looking forward to it.

**Port Charles**

Brenda slipped quietly down the alleyway behind Jake's, with Max following more quietly than she would have expected from such a large man. Milo had called them from outside the bar, telling her that he had followed Courtney here. "Ms. Matthews went upstairs as soon as she came in, and she looked nervous," Milo had whispered into the phone. "I can't watch both the front and back stairs, though, unless you send backup." So Brenda had grabbed Max and hurried to Jake's, where even now, she planned to slip up the back stairs and see what Courtney might be doing up there, and with whom. She had persuaded Max to stay in the alley and guard the back exit.

In her quest to determine exactly what was going on between AJ and Courtney, Brenda had convinced Max that they needed someone trustworthy – and preferably someone Courtney wouldn't know -- to follow her for a while. After that odd interaction between the two at Kelly's, she wanted to see if Courtney and AJ had any contact with each other. Max had suggested assigning his younger brother to the job. Milo had been hoping to move up in the ranks, but up to now had not had any contact with Sonny's immediate circle. Brenda had quickly accepted.

Now, having slipped up the back stairs, she tried to determine how she could best figure out which room Courtney was in. She decided to start by listening at the doors of each room to see if she heard anything. Before she could make a move to do so, however, AJ made it easy. He came up the stairs from the bar, whistling softly, and walked straight over to room #3, never noticing Brenda as she ducked around the corner onto the back stairs. He barely had time to knock once before the door flew open, and Courtney's unmistakable voice hissed, "Be quiet and get in here before someone sees you."

Brenda thought about how to proceed, and finally concluded that she could probably hear part of their conversation through the door. She hurried over and put her ear to it, and quickly grew frustrated when she couldn't make out their words. She quickly called Milo and told him to grab an empty glass and bring it upstairs. When he arrived with it, she carefully pressed it against the door in hopes that the trick she had learned in fifth grade science would work.

It didn't, at least not well enough. She could now make out a word here and there, but not enough to piece together what they were talking about. She barely resisted the urge to stamp her foot in frustration.

But then, the gods must've smiled on her, because their discussion became heated, and their raised voices could be heard clearly through the door even without the glass. Brenda quickly pulled out her cell phone and turned on the voice memo feature, hoping she would catch something useful.

Courtney: "But I told you, it was a mistake. You can't hold that over my head forever!"

AJ: "If you don't want me to tell your precious Jason about our mutually enjoyable nights together, then stop fighting it. You know you like it, so I don't see what the big deal is."

Courtney: "God, you are such a pig. It was a mistake, and Jason would never forgive me if he found out. Why do you want to ruin my life?"

AJ: "It's not about you or your pathetic little life, Courtney. It's about that asshole golden boy and making him pay."

Courtney: "What did Jason ever do to you?"

AJ: "He's a brain-damaged thug of a hitman, and still he has everything that should have been mine."

Courtney: "What are you talking about? What could you possibly want that he has?"

AJ: "The entire family's excitement when he throws them a bone, for one thing. He's never done a damn thing for them. He wants nothing to do with them. I bend over backwards for the family, and I'm just some screwup – the family black sheep, the embarrassment."

Courtney: "So you're gonna ruin my life because they like him better than you? Come on, AJ, please just let this go, okay? I'm not gonna be your midday bootie call forever, you know."

AJ: "Sorry, Courtney, but in every war, there's collateral damage. In this case, you're it, and you'll be whatever I want for as long as I want. But look at the bright side -- there's no reason Jason has to find out. It's enough for me that I'm fucking his little girlfriend – I don't actually need him to know about it. So, it's your choice. I'm gonna get mine one way or another. You decide how."

Courtney: "Fine. Let's just get this over with."

Silence for a few moments, then the unmistakable sounds of sex. A few short minutes later, there was a loud groan from AJ and a panting scream from Courtney. _Honestly_, Brenda thought with disgust, _that didn't take long … and she certainly sounds like she's enjoying herself, considering that he apparently has no stamina and she's supposed to be in love with Jason._

When things got quiet, Brenda stopped recording, and stepped back into the shadows to consider what to do next. Spying the fire alarm, a sly grin crossed her face. She pulled it and quickly slipped back out to the alley, where she turned on the camera feature of her phone, trained it on the door, and waited for the photo op to emerge.

**Seattle**

Johnny started his investigation in the only place he could with the limited information Jason had given him: he followed the woman home from work. Remaining undetected while tailing someone who was paying attention could be a challenge; however, tailing a city bus with a bored driver was ridiculously easy. As he drove Jason's rental car, automatically keeping it a half block behind the bus, Johnny passed the time by thinking about the exchange he had witnessed between Jason and the waitress at the diner.

If it hadn't been obvious before, that discussion would have made clear that Jason's feelings for the brunette waitress were … intense. Johnny couldn't remember the last time anyone had argued with Jason about anything, and in his opinion, it was utterly ridiculous to argue with someone in order to force more money on her. And he had never seen Jason turn on the charm like he had … smiling and laughing and teasing the woman, making her blush … before today, Johnny hadn't even suspected Jason _had_ a charming, teasing side. In any event, this Elizabeth was a little spitfire, and if he hadn't thought Jason would kill him for noticing, he would have admitted that she was pretty cute when she got all riled up.

Johnny continued to consider what Jason's very obvious attraction to the waitress might mean to him as he watched Elizabeth switch buses. He pulled over while the bus loaded, then waited until the bus was halfway down the block before rejoining the flow of traffic. He figured at the very least, he would be busy learning everything he could about the woman for the next few days. As he noticed the decline in the appearance of the neighborhoods he was following the bus through, he began to think he might find himself on bodyguard duty, as well. Which would be fine, he supposed, except it was hard to be both effective and invisible as a bodyguard, and he was pretty sure Jason wouldn't want the woman to know she was being guarded.

He thought tailing her might become more of a challenge when she finally got off the bus and started walking; he figured she might notice a car following her slowly down the street, so he took the first parking space he found and hurried after her on foot. He wondered at her lack of concern for her safety – she should have noticed him, even if he _was_ across the street and still a half-block behind her. Jason would probably have a fit – in his own quiet, Stone Cold way -- if he knew she was living in this neighborhood and walking around alone and oblivious, as though nothing bad could ever happen to her. He debated with himself about whether to mention it or not when he reported back. On the one hand, he didn't relish the idea of trying to guard the woman without her knowledge. On the other hand, he _really_ didn't relish the idea of Jason's reaction if he _didn't_ mention it and then something happened to her.

He sighed and continued to follow her. When she finally entered an apartment building, he watched from across the street until he saw her moving around in a third floor window. She left a short time later, carrying a bag of laundry, and he resisted the urge to follow her. He reasoned that he needed to know who she was, and anyway, at this point he was still investigating her, not guarding her. Just because bodyguarding was his usual occupation – and would probably become his assignment again before the week was out -- didn't mean that was the priority now, so instead of following her as his instincts would have preferred, he let himself into the building and took the rickety elevator up to her apartment.

He slid on a pair of thin latex gloves, then picked the lock easily, rolling his eyes at the flimsy protection it offered in this questionable part of town. He carefully wiped his feet on the welcome mat in the hallway, then stepped inside and paused to look around.

He discovered three things about her just from that first look. First, she kept a tidy house. Second, she had a flair for the artistic – the apartment was both cozy and cheerful, with splashes of color here and there throughout. And third, she was married to a cop. He walked over to the wall that displayed their wedding picture for a closer look, frowning because the groom was clearly attired in a full dress uniform, and in Johnny's line of work, it was generally best to steer clear of cops entirely.

Before beginning his search, he turned on the computer on the living room desk, which thankfully wasn't password protected. He called Spinelli, who talked him through where to find information identifying what Spinelli called the "cyber address." After giving Spinelli that information, he left the computer on for Spinelli to hack from the other end, then moved on to his own task, methodically searching the place from top to bottom.

He started in the bedroom, careful to leave no trace of his visit, taking pictures of anything that seemed like it might be important on the digital camera Spinelli had loaned him.

He found her address book in the nightstand and photographed every page that had writing on it for later consideration. He was both disappointed and relieved that she didn't seem to keep a diary. On the one hand, diaries were great sources of information, so had he found one, he couldn't have ignored it. On the other hand, she wasn't an enemy, and hadn't done anything wrong (unless you counted marrying a cop), so he would have felt a little guilty invading her privacy like that. Fortunately, the absence of a diary made the point moot.

He moved around the room, looking in drawers and closets. He found and photographed her marriage license in a fireproof lockbox under the bed. A final visual sweep confirmed that he was done with this room.

He moved on to the bathroom, and found an ovulation test kit package, as well as unused pregnancy tests in the medicine cabinet. _She's trying to get pregnant?_ Johnny frowned. Considering what Jason had said about her husband, _that_ didn't sound smart. He didn't photograph those, just made a mental note to mention it to Jason. He scanned the remainder of the medicine cabinet, finding prenatal vitamins. _That's odd, _he thought, but then supposed maybe they were stockpiled in anticipation of a future pregnancy.

Nothing else caught his eye in the medicine cabinet. Moving along, he came across her stash of money, hidden in a tampon box in the vanity under the sink. He flipped through the stack of bills, impressed that she had saved nearly two thousand dollars, until he remembered that Jason had apparently been tipping her outrageously for the last several days. Still, a tampon box was an ingenious place to hide the money – most people (and especially most _men, _which would cover both her husband and most burglars) -- wouldn't be as thorough as he was. Johnny replaced the money and left the bathroom.

There was little of interest in the kitchen, so he quickly moved back into the living room to finish up. Once there, he glanced at his watch, noting that he had been there nearly an hour already. He turned his attention back to the desk in the corner. He quickly and methodically photographed a bunch of papers that were strewn across the top, then carefully returned them to their original positions.

He was just starting to go through the desk drawers when his phone vibrated. He glanced at it and saw that he was receiving a text from Spinelli, who had apparently finished copying the computer's hard drive. He paused to shut down the computer, then quickly searched the rest of the desk. He found little of interest until he got to a folder neatly labeled "Donor Information." He glanced at the first page, and felt himself turn bright red when he realized what kind of donor information it contained. He quickly photographed it and then slid it back into the drawer where he had found it.

He put the camera back in his pocket and glanced at his watch again. Nearly 90 minutes had elapsed since he had entered the apartment, and she could return at any time now. Looking around one last time to make sure everything was as he had found it, he headed for the front door. He opened it a crack, listening for sounds that might indicate he wasn't alone. Hearing nothing, he quickly slipped into the hallway and used his lockpicks to secure the door behind him. As he finished the task, he heard the ancient elevator move. He quickly headed away from the door down the hall toward the stairs, in hopes that he would get out of the building without being seen at all.

However, when the elevator doors started to open, he decided that might look suspicious to whoever was arriving. So he fixed a pleasant but impersonal smile on his face, and waited as the doors opened and someone stepped off. He barely held his expression steady as he realized it was Elizabeth herself. She smiled sunnily at him and said hello, so he nodded politely in return, sending up a silent prayer of thanks that she had returned safely – leaving nothing unpleasant to explain to Jason -- and that it hadn't been two minutes earlier. It would have been awkward at best to explain to her what he was doing with lockpicks at her door.

He stepped onto the elevator and watched her walk down the hall to her apartment. The doors slid closed, blocking her from his view just as she slid her key into the lock.

Johnny pulled out his phone when he got out onto to the street and headed back to where he had parked the car, then decided to wait and tell Jason in person what he had learned about the petite waitress.


	16. Chapter 15

Chapter 15

**Port Charles**

Sam was frustrated.

She had been trying for three days to see Jax, having decided that she needed to tell him about the pregnancy before he actually got married – and, she still hoped, before Jerry spilled the beans on her past. But she had gotten nowhere. She suspected Jerry was keeping Jax too busy to answer or return her calls. She couldn't quite figure out how, though, since it seemed that everywhere she went, Jerry was there.

When she went out for a meal, he would show up and join her, putting her on tenterhooks as she tried to figure out how much he knew already, while watching her own words carefully so as to give nothing else away.

When she shopped at the boutique, to maintain her façade that she was happy about going to the wedding (even though she was actually determined that it would never happen), he showed up and insisted she model her choices for him, and then he bought her the one she finally chose.

When she decided to explore the town of Port Charles, he had shown up at the same time as the cab, waving it away and insisting he would love nothing better than to play tour guide for her.

When she decided to walk through the park to make the most of a snowstorm (since she was determined not to be in this kind of climate ever again after she married Jax), then cleared the snow off a bench and sat to watch the children shriek and play in it, Jerry appeared with hot chocolate.

And through it all, he was polite and charming, not dropping so much as a single innuendo about her past even once since their shared ride from the airport. If she hadn't known better, she would have thought he was courting her. But she knew his motives were entirely related to undermining her, so instead of feeling flattered, she was completely unnerved, jumping at shadows and waiting for the other shoe to drop.

She had finally decided last night that if Jax wouldn't take the time to see her, she would just have to try a different approach. She had left her room early this morning, hoping to avoid Jerry, and even now, she was waiting anxiously for the cab the doorman had called for her. She wanted to get this taken care of today. With only five days to go before the wedding, she feared that her window of opportunity was rapidly closing.

The cab finally arrived, and she slid in with a smile at the doorman and a sigh of relief. There was nothing to stop her now – Jerry probably wouldn't even realize she was gone.

She spent the rest of the cab ride rehearsing what she would say.

XXXXXXXXXXX

Jerry smiled as he listened to the voice on the other end of the phone. "Good work, my friend. You can expect a large bonus if the documents are as clear as you say they are." The phone beeped, signaling another incoming call. "Fax the documents to me care of the Metro Court Hotel in Port Charles. I'll call you after I've reviewed them." Without further comment, he pressed a button to answer the new call.

The voice on the other end said without preamble, "We just got her a cab. She's headed to ELQ. Do you want someone to follow her?"

Jerry smiled cagily, pleased he had thought to let it be known among the hotel staff that he would handsomely reward them for keeping him informed of Sam's activities during her stay. He said, "No. Good work. I'll take care of it. Meanwhile, I'm expecting an urgent fax. Please ask the desk clerk to send it up as soon as it comes in."

He moved to hang up, but stopped when the voice said, "One more thing, Mr. Jax…"

"Yes?" he asked impatiently, though he sipped his coffee calmly.

"Someone was following her when she left. Not one of the guys you pointed out as yours," he clarified.

Jerry frowned thoughtfully. "Hmmm. Any idea who?"

"It's a local guy."

"A private investigator?"

"No. If I'm not mistaken, he has ties to the local crime syndicate. The Corinthos organization. I think I've seen him occasionally filling in for Mrs. Corinthos' usual bodyguard."

"Hmmm," Jerry said again. "All right. Keep me posted."

He hung up, and immediately dialed another number. When a female voice answered, he said breezily, "Skye, darling, it's Jerry. I need to see you as soon as possible. Can you meet me at the Metro Court for a late breakfast? Right away?"

She sounded surprised by the request, but she agreed nevertheless. He disconnected, smiling as he anticipated Sam's frustration when she was told that Skye wasn't there to meet with her.

He got ready to go upstairs to meet Skye, pausing to answer the knock at the door that signaled the arrival of the fax he had been expecting. He quickly flipped through the papers, noting that the investigator had found enough to get Samantha McCall out of Jax's life for good. The fax was 68 pages long, and included confidential police files as well as fuzzy, captioned photos of Ms. McCall going about her life in the days and weeks before she had left for Port Charles. The investigator noted on the cover page that hard copies would follow by overnight express. Jerry tucked the papers under his arm, and whistled as he headed to the restaurant.

XXXXXXXXXXX

Brenda entered the penthouse, leaving Max at his post outside the door. She was surprised that Francis or Johnny wasn't already there, so she assumed that Sonny must be out. She knew that Leticia had taken Adela to the park to go sledding, so if Sonny wasn't here, she was likely alone.

She went to the desk to check her email, and was pleased to see that the pictures and audio file of Courtney's rendezvous with AJ had successfully come through from her phone. She quickly checked their quality and decided that although they wouldn't win any awards for artistic or technical merit, they were sufficiently clear for her purposes.

She closed them and scanned the rest of her inbox. Upon finding an email from Spinelli, she opened it and scanned it rapidly.

_Dear Most Photogenic One:_

_The Jackal hopes that this missive finds you, Mr. Corinthos Sir, and the Petite Princess in excellent health. Stone Cold sends his regards –_ Brenda scoffed, knowing that Jason wouldn't have thought to do any such thing – _and requests that you use the enclosed information as you see fit. _Brenda smiled at that, figuring Jason had actually said something like, "tell her she'll know what to do." Brenda decided to finish reading the email before opening the attachment.

_On an only marginally-related matter, the Jackal is most concerned about Stone Cold's stress level, as the master is behaving in an uncharacteristically hesitant manner with respect to the conclusion of his business in the Emerald City. Perhaps the most compassionate friend of Stone Cold might wish to speak with him to ascertain whether he is in need of additional assistance or stress relief._

_With sincere affection and respect,_

_The Assassin of Cyberspace_

_Damien Spinelli (aka "The Jackal")_

Brenda frowned thoughtfully. _Jason, hesitant? Jason is never hesitant._

She absently opened the attachment, and smiled with relief when she saw the contents. It seemed that Spinelli had found proof that Courtney's baby couldn't be Jason's, and combined with the information she herself had found at Jake's, it seemed pretty clear to her that AJ was the father. As much as Brenda didn't like or respect Courtney, she had to admit the woman was unlikely to have slept with yet another person in the same time frame.

She drummed her fingers thoughtfully on the desktop, deciding how best to tell Sonny about this. Sighing, she realized that Sonny would probably freak regardless of how carefully she approached the topic. But she definitely wanted to do it soon, so that Sonny would be over it by the time Jason came home. Thinking it over, Brenda realized the one good thing in the situation was that at least Jason didn't have any feelings for Courtney; he would be pissed enough about AJ interfering in his life without the added complication of the hurt he would have felt had he actually cared about the twit.

She returned to the question of Jason's "uncharacteristically hesitant" behavior. She decided Spinelli was right, she would have to ask him about it. She glanced at the clock, calculated the time in Seattle, and decided he probably wouldn't mind a late afternoon call. She picked up the phone and punched in his number.

When he answered, he didn't really sound stressed. "What's up, Brenda? Did you get the information Spinelli found?"

"Yeah, I just looked at it." She paused, not wanting to upset him, and not sure how to reconcile her sense that he didn't sound stressed with Spinelli's concern. She said, "Congratulations on dodging that bullet."

She could hear the relief in his voice when he said, "Thanks. So what's up?"

"Well, um … Jason, I hate to tell you this, but I think I know who the father actually is."

"I don't really care, Brenda, as long as it's not me."

"Well, um … normally I would agree with you, but in this case …" she hesitated again, taking a breath. "Jason, I'm pretty sure it's AJ."

She was relieved when he sounded more skeptical than upset. "What? They don't even know each other."

"Well, maybe they _didn't _know each other, but they know each other pretty well now."

She could picture the way his eyes would narrow at her if he were here. "Brenda, how do you know this? What did you do?"

Trust Jason to hone in on that aspect of the situation, rather than the information itself. Really, sometimes it sucked that he knew her so well. She answered, "Nothing." At his skeptical silence (how did he _do_ that, anyway?), she amended her response. "Well, nothing big."

"Brenda –" Jason's voice took on that exasperated, warning tone he got whenever he thought he wouldn't like what she was about to say.

"Fine," she huffed. "I got Max's brother Milo to tail her, and told him to call me if she did anything unusual, so when she went to Jake's and got a room upstairs, he did." Deciding to let him fill in the blanks for himself, she said, "Listen, I recorded part of their conversation and got some pictures. I'm sending them to Spinelli now." She completed the task as she spoke.

"You were close enough to record their conversation?!" Now he _was _starting to sound a little stressed … or maybe irritated was a better word. "Brenda, you know AJ is completely unpredictable, especially when he's drinking. You shouldn't have gone anywhere near him. And where the hell was Max?"

Brenda would have been irritated herself, had she not recognized that his tone was more about his hatred and distrust of AJ and his genuine concern for her safety than about a lack of faith in her. Besides, she had never been in even the slightest danger, and she really didn't want Jason to give Max trouble over doing what she had asked him to do, so she focused on calming him down. "Max was with me, AJ didn't see me, and everything is fine," she soothed.

He sounded only slightly less annoyed when he replied, "Fine, but please stay away from both of them from now on." She heard a door slam in the background, and he said, "Hang on." He didn't give her a chance to respond, but she heard his slightly muffled voice say to whoever had apparently come in, "Hey, how'd it go?" There was a pause, then he said, "Okay, give me a minute, I'm on with Brenda. In the meantime, can you go tell Spinelli that Brenda got his email and sent him something back?"

Brenda frowned, and when he came back on the line, she asked, "Jason, who's there with you? I thought it was just you and Spinelli."

"Johnny's here. I needed him for some recon work. But I think he told Sonny that his mother was sick or something. He said Sonny is pissed at me and might have tried to prevent him coming, or at least would've tried to find out where I am."

"Oh. Well, Sonny'll be less pissed – at you, anyway -- once I show him this stuff and he's had a chance to digest it. But I wouldn't want to be in Courtney's shoes at that point, or AJ's for that matter. But anyway, I'm surprised you needed Johnny. You and Spinelli have done fine on your own up to now. Actually, come to think of it, Seattle seems to be taking longer than you usually take." He heard the question in her voice.

"Yeah, well, something came up."

Brenda frowned at his cryptic response. "What does _that_ mean? Is the security a problem?" She let her concern sound in her voice as she asked suspiciously, "What exactly did you need Johnny for?"

"Don't worry about it. It's no big deal and it's none of your business anyway." He sounded defensive, which made Brenda think Spinelli might be onto something. But she didn't think it was as simple as "stress."

"Well, which is it? Is it no big deal or is it none of my business? 'Cause if it's no big deal, then why do you care if I know? And if you _really _don't want me to know, then it must be a big deal."

Jason sighed. "I don't have time for this, Brenda. Johnny has some information for me and I have to go."

"Fine," she huffed. "But don't think I won't find out about this."

"Fine," he snapped back. "But _later_. Please."

"Fine."

There was a pause, and finally Jason asked, "Did you need anything else?"

"No. The bone marrow drive is coming along. Emily worked Alan and Edward brilliantly, and we should have approval from the hospital board this week. So the drive should be ready to go in a couple weeks."

His voice was more patient when he answered, "Thanks. Listen, please stay away from AJ and Courtney. I'll deal with that mess when I get home."

"Fine, Jason, I'll stay away from them for now, but if I think you need my help before you get back, all bets are off. Do you have any idea when you're coming home?"

"It'll be another couple of weeks probably. I'll keep you posted." Brenda heard a commotion in the background, then Jason said, "Hang on, Brenda, maybe there is something you could do for me." She heard a muffled discussion in the background, then Jason said, "Brenda?"

"Yeah, what's up?"

"Spinelli says the woman we think we identified in Florida is investigating ELQ and is in Port Charles, but she doesn't seem to be investigating me specifically – she's apparently more interested in Skye for some reason. Can you try to find out what she's up to, without raising her suspicions or interest in me?"

"What makes you think she's up to something? It could be a coincidence." But Brenda knew Jason didn't believe in coincidence, and in this case, it _did_ sound pretty fishy.

"Let's just say her history suggests otherwise. Spinelli will send you what we have on her. Can you do it?"

"Well, of _course_ I can do it, Jason." Brenda was affronted by the mere suggestion that maybe she couldn't. "Don't worry, she won't have a clue. By the way, speaking of Skye, she's getting married in a few days and she sent you an invitation -- probably your mother's idea." She knew he and Skye didn't get along very well. "Do you want me to tell her you're out of town and can't make it?"

"Yeah. Be careful, Brenda."

She absently noted that Spinelli must've been sitting right there following their conversation, because an email popped into her inbox with information about one Samantha McCall, con-artist extraordinaire. "Will you stop telling me to be careful?" she snapped. "I'll stay away from AJ and Courtney, and I'll find out whatever there is to know about the McCall chick, and she won't have any idea that I'm investigating her."

"No breaking into her hotel room, Brenda."

It was _really _frustrating that he knew her so well. But she wouldn't promise that until she knew it wouldn't be necessary. "Say hi to Spinelli and Johnny."

She heard him growl her name just before she disconnected, but she simply ignored that and started to read about the woman Jason thought might be carrying his child.

**Seattle**

Jason took a breath to calm down, trying to convince himself that Brenda would only break into the McCall woman's room as a last resort, and hopefully, he would be home by then to stop her. He almost regretted sending her the information on the con woman, but he knew that the only way to get information directly from _any_ woman without opening one of a multitude of possible cans of worms was to have _another_ woman approach her. And despite her impulsiveness, Brenda could be very discreet and careful when the situation called for it, especially if it was in the service of someone she considered family. Hell, the McCall woman would probably end up thinking _she_ had struck up the conversation with Brenda rather than the other way around.

He looked at Johnny and Spinelli, and asked, "Who wants to go first?"

"Well, since the Jackal is still processing and printing the information obtained by the protector of the night on his mysterious mission, perhaps the missive from the Photogenic One can be reviewed while we wait."

Spinelli called up Brenda's email, and played the audio file while he put on the screen the pictures of Courtney and AJ running out into the alley behind Jake's. For the next several minutes, Johnny and Spinelli both fidgeted uncomfortably, sending occasional glances at Jason to gauge his reaction, as they all listened to the audio and looked at the pictures Spinelli was scrolling through on the screen. The grainy audio recording of the conversation and other activities left little room for interpretation, and the photos made things even clearer. Both AJ and Courtney appeared to have dressed hastily, with AJ buttoning his shirt and Courtney wearing her sweater inside-out. Putting all that together with Spinelli's prior research, Jason had to agree with Brenda's assessment: AJ was the father of a child Courtney was trying to pass off as his.

A wave of fury rolled over Jason. She claimed to love him, and she was planning to make him raise his enemy's kid? She was intentionally deceiving him to make him think he was the father? He took a deep breath and held it, trying to calm down. He thought it was a good thing there were three time zones separated them. He wasn't sure he would be able to control himself there were fewer miles between them.

Gradually, he became aware of the uncomfortable silence and his friends' occasional fleeting glances at him. He ignored them until he had calmed down enough to say in a mild tone, "Okay, I'll deal with her when I get home." He looked at Johnny and changed the subject. "What did you find out?" Spinelli re-focused his attention on his computer, methodically loading and printing the numerous photos Johnny had taken in the apartment.

"Well, most of it is in the stuff Spinelli is printing. Her name is Elizabeth Spencer. She's married to a cop named Lucas." He stopped to ask Jason, "Do you think "Lucky" is a nickname? What kind of stupid name is that, anyway?"

Jason answered patiently, "That's what she calls him, so I guess it must be a nickname. What else?"

"She lives in a small apartment in a not-so-great part of town. He's a cop."

"You said that already."

"It bears repeating." At Jason's look, he held up a hand. "Fine. She takes two buses to get to work at the diner. She has about two grand hidden in a tampon box in the bathroom. How much of that came from you, by the way?"

"None of your business, Johnny. Anything else?"

Johnny sighed and said again, "Fine. She's trying to get pregnant, which is weird because I figured she was hiding the money from him, so why would she have a kid with him if she doesn't trust him?"

"She's already pregnant, he doesn't know, and she's planning to leave him as soon as she saves up some more money or when she starts to show, whichever comes first."

"How do you know that?"

"Does it matter?" Jason asked pointedly.

Johnny shrugged nonchalantly. "I guess not. Well, anyway, it looks like he isn't the biological father, since I found a file with information on a donor."

Spinelli's head shot up. "A sperm donor?"

Jason glared at Spinelli, mystifying Johnny, who nevertheless answered, "Yeah."

Spinelli looked at Jason, "Do you think …"

Jason cut him off by asking Johnny, "Did you bring information on this donor?"

"Yeah, there's pictures of the file in there." He gestured toward the rapidly growing pile of papers coming off of Spinelli's printer.

"What about her family?"

"No pictures or anything, but I got copies of her address book, too, so it's probably in there."

Jason walked over to the printer and began flipping through the pages that had already been printed. He came across her address book first. Nothing seemed unusual until he got to the Ws. The first entry caught his interest because it wasn't a name. It said only "Mom and Dad" and listed an address in Sri Lanka. "Her parents live in Sri Lanka?" he asked of no one in particular.

"Really?" Spinelli asked, looking up again from his laptop.

"Yeah." If the first entry was surprising, the second was shocking. He read it twice silently, then aloud, thinking it might help him believe it. "Webber, Steven (Emily Quartermaine; Paige; Jack), 355 Cherry Blossom Lane, Port Charles, New York; 315-555-3383." Elizabeth's comment to her boss the other day popped into his head: _They have little kids and they're both doctors …_

He barely registered Johnny's "What?" or Spinelli's "Why would the woman of mystery have the address of Stone Cold's most cherished sibling?" Jason quickly flipped through the papers until he came to her marriage certificate. Elizabeth Imogene_ Webber_ had married Lucas Lorenzo Spencer Junior a little over a year ago. _It can't be that simple, can it?_ If she was related to Emily and Steven, he at least wouldn't have to worry that her family wouldn't treat her well.

Ignoring Johnny and Spinelli for the moment, he pulled out his cellphone and called Emily. When she answered, he asked without preamble, "Emily, it's Jason. Does Steven have a sister in Seattle?"


	17. Chapter 16

_A/N: Sorry for the delay in posting ... I've been kinda feeling depressed and cynical about Liason lately, which makes it hard to write ... in any event, this chapter was still kinda fun ... we finally get to meet the mistress, god help us all! And may I say ... I need feedback more than ever, to get me through the way the writers on the show are jerking us around! _

**Chapter 16**

**Port Charles**

Emily hung up the phone, stunned by the conversation she had just had with her brother. It seemed that out of all the diners in the entire Seattle metropolitan area, Jason had stumbled into the one that Steven's sister worked in, and it sounded like Elizabeth really needed some help. Emily just hoped she could convince Steven to let bygones be bygones. After all, if there was one thing Emily knew, it was that family was family, no matter what.

She herself had never actually met Elizabeth. She had met Steven five years ago when he had come to see Jason in the hospital. The two men had been in medical school together, and were casual friends, so when Steven had come to Port Charles to interview for residency a few months after Jason's accident, he had stopped by to see how Jason was doing, and by happenstance, Emily had been visiting at the time. It had been love at first sight for both of them, and a year later, they had gotten married. Although Jason had initially been guarded around his alter-ego's old friend, he had eventually relaxed when he realized that Steven hadn't been such a close friend of Jason Quartermaine that it would color his opinion of Jason Morgan. The two men now considered themselves friends, despite having little in common, mainly because they both wanted Emily happy, and friendship between them made her happy.

In any event, by the time she had met Steven, he had already basically cut Elizabeth out of his life. She had never thought it was any of her business what had happened between the siblings, but over the years, she had gleaned that it had something to do with Steven's other sister, Sarah, and the man Elizabeth had eventually married. Elizabeth had sent her regrets in response to the wedding invitation Emily had sent her, and contact between Elizabeth and any other member of Steven's family had always been limited to a call or a card at Christmastime. Steven had told her Elizabeth wanted it that way, and Emily had had no reason to doubt his assessment.

But now, if what Jason had told her was true -- which again, Emily had no reason to doubt -- it seemed that Elizabeth and her husband didn't have the financial wherewithal to visit, and maybe Lucky was abusive and wanted Elizabeth cut off from her family anyway. And really, if Elizabeth thought Steven hated her, why would she even try to sustain a relationship with him?

So, all things considered, Emily supposed it wasn't surprising that she herself had only ever seen Elizabeth in a handful of old family photos, and had spoken with her less than a half dozen times since she had met Steven, for perhaps 30 minutes all told.

However, she now realized that Steven's little sister needed help, and she was determined to make sure that Elizabeth got it. Elizabeth had been little more than a child when she had gotten involved with Lucky, and now, she had apparently discovered that she had made a mistake. Steven simply had to be made to see that, and to forgive his sister, and it looked like it was going to be up to her to make it happen. Regardless of whatever mistakes she may have made in the past, Elizabeth was family, and Emily hated the idea of the poor woman all alone, broke, and pregnant, with no family or friends to turn to for help. The very idea of it was totally unacceptable, especially considering Jason's description of Lucky, which was peppered with descriptions like "prick," "asshole," and "abusive bastard." Jason was usually so ridiculously overprotective of Emily that he never even came close to using language like that around her – normally, he would have said something like, "I just don't like him," and left it at that. His use of such colorful terms to describe the man was enough to make clear to Emily just how much he hated the guy, and it raised her own level of concern for the sister-in-law she had never met. One thing was now certain, in Emily's mind: by the time Elizabeth gave birth, she would be safely in Port Charles and under the protection of her family.

**Seattle**

After speaking with Emily, Jason spent several hours reviewing the rest of the information that Johnny had obtained from Elizabeth's apartment. Spinelli had finished printing it and taken off to his usual reconnaissance table in the diner. Johnny, who refused to admit he was jet-lagged, had nevertheless taken himself off at the same time, presumably to get some sleep. So, when Jason finally reached the file on the sperm donor, he was alone.

He eyed the document without reading it at first, debating with himself whether he should invade her privacy this far. After all, who provided the DNA for her baby wasn't really relevant to the question of how best to help her get to Port Charles and away from her husband. If he was smart, he would throw the file away and forget all about it.

But he couldn't seem to make himself do that. He knew he should; knew that he had already invaded her privacy to a degree that would probably really anger her, should she ever find out about it. And as much as he enjoyed pushing her buttons and watching her get all worked up, he didn't want her to get so mad at him that she refused to talk to him again, and he didn't really know her well enough yet to know whether that was a possibility.

He admitted to himself that he hoped she _was_ the woman he was looking for. He told himself that it would simplify things, because Elizabeth was leaving her husband and had no plans to have any more children before leaving Seattle, so she would likely have any remaining samples destroyed legitimately. He rationalized that if his own plans proceeded as he expected, she would soon be moving to Port Charles, where he and his sister, and hopefully Elizabeth's brother, not to mention Brenda, and maybe even Monica, would ensure that Elizabeth would have all the support she would need to raise a happy, healthy child.

Jason refused to acknowledge the warm glow that arose at the thought of watching Elizabeth grow big with his child. It was completely irrational, he knew, but he secretly loved the idea of seeing her holding his baby in her arms, and of being allowed to visit and see their child grow up. He considered only briefly how differently he felt about the idea of Elizabeth raising his child, compared with the way he felt about the idea of the McCall woman – or, for that matter, Courtney -- raising his child. The image of Elizabeth with his child gave him an unfamiliar warm, fuzzy feeling, while the very thought of the McCall woman in the same situation made him feel slightly ill. Even worse, the thought of Courtney with his child made him want to shoot someone just for the hell of it. Fortunately, as Brenda had said on the phone, he had at least dodged that bullet.

Sighing, Jason looked at the clock, and seeing that it was after 3 am, he decided to defer the decision until morning. He put the papers aside and got up to get ready for bed.

**Port Charles**

Sam arrived back at the Metro Court an hour after she had left, without having even laid eyes on Skye Quartermaine. She couldn't believe how bad her luck was – she had finally gotten away from Jerry's prying eyes, and had planned out her conversation with Skye to the last detail, and then the woman wasn't even there?

And worse, the secretary she had spoken with had been unsure when or if Skye would be back. She had smiled at Sam and confided, "She's getting married in a few days, so she's really only here for a couple of hours every morning, and now that she had a meeting suddenly come up offsite, I doubt she'll be back today. I could have her call you, if you like."

"Oh, no, that's okay. I'll just catch her later." Sam wanted to catch the woman off guard, not give her time to prepare for a meeting. She had quickly turned and left the office without giving the woman her name.

Now, she decided she might as well head up to the restaurant and see about getting some breakfast. She hated that her appetite seemed to have increased tenfold since she became pregnant, but she was determined to carry the baby to term, and if that meant ruining her figure, well, she could always have liposuction later.

She took the elevator to the top floor, and looked around as she stepped off and approached the maitre-d. "Table for one?" he asked snootily as she approached.

But Sam had spied Jerry and Skye laughing together at a table by the window. "No," she said, "I think I'll join my friends." And for the first time ever, she approached Jerry rather than waiting for him to pounce on her.

As Sam walked toward the table, Jerry looked up and saw her approaching. He stood to greet her, and she resisted the urge to roll her eyes. "Samantha, darling, how are you? Come, join us. Have you met Jax's fiancée?"

Sam smiled and said, "No, Jerry, I haven't. In fact, I just stopped by ELQ in hopes of introducing myself, but apparently she had a meeting."

Skye laughed. "Well, it's nice to meet you… Sam, is it?" When Sam nodded, Skye continued, "I can't concentrate on work, anyway, with the wedding coming up, so when Jerry called and asked me to have breakfast, I thought, why not?"

Sam smiled back. "Well, I'm glad I ran into you here. Did Jerry tell you he asked me to be his date for the wedding?"

Skye replied, "Yes, he did, and we're so glad you could join us."

"Oh, good, I wanted to make sure you wouldn't be uncomfortable having me there. I hope you know that Jax and I are just friends now, no matter what might have happened in the past." Sam felt Jerry's eyes narrow on her, but she needed to test the waters to see if she could fluster the other woman. She had to shake the woman's faith in Jax one way or another.

It didn't work, however; Skye simply laughed and said, "Oh, no, it's fine. I know Jax wasn't a monk before he met me. I wasn't exactly a nun, myself. The important thing is that he's committed to me now, and he makes that clear every chance he gets." She looked up, her smile widening as she caught sight of her approaching fiancé. "Jax! Speak of the devil!" He reached her side and leaned down to kiss her. As he pulled up a chair and sat down, Skye continued, "Jerry just introduced me to your old friend Sam. She was sweet enough to be concerned that I wouldn't be uncomfortable having her at the wedding, and I was explaining that the past just isn't important now that we have each other."

He smiled, and Sam wanted to stomp on his foot because no one had ever looked at _her _like that, with more love and tenderness than she had ever seen, and with just the slightest hint of banked passion. He said, "I only have eyes for you, love. No other woman can possibly compare. I heard you were here and thought I would stop by and say hello."

She smiled back at him, running a finger down his tie. "You know," she said, tugging on his tie until he was close enough for another kiss, "I have some time before my next appointment, and I'm sure Jerry and Sam won't mind if we leave, so maybe we can find some privacy …"

Jax smiled, "I like the way you think." He turned to Jerry and Sam, "If you'll excuse us?"

There was nothing for Sam to do but nod and say, "Of course. It was nice to meet you, Skye."

"You, too," Skye replied, not sparing Sam a glance as she stood and tugged Jax away.

Silence reigned for a moment before Jerry said, "I've been trying to tell you. You don't have a chance anymore. He's completely enamored of Skye."

Sam forced herself to disregard the hint of sympathy she thought his voice might have held. This was still Jerry, and he still hated her. She said, "I'm happy for him," but she heard the slight hitch in her own voice, because after seeing the pair together, she was starting to fear that Jerry might be right. And what would she do if even the baby wasn't enough to break them up?

She pushed the thought aside. _The baby will stop the wedding. He'll marry me when I tell him; she won't want him anymore and he'll marry me. He just has to._

She barely heard Jerry when he said, standing, "You look like you need some time to yourself. I'll leave you to consider your options in light of this new information." With that, he was gone, and Sam was left alone with her misgivings and her fears.

**Seattle**

Late the next afternoon, Elizabeth opened the door and dropped her grocery bags in the entryway with a sigh of relief at the quiet that greeted her. Lucky was nowhere in sight, so she assumed he wasn't home yet. _What else is new?_

She took off the Gore-tex jacket that Lucky had bought her last year for Christmas, telling her when she opened it that there was a reason everyone in Seattle wore Gore-tex. He had been so pleased with himself for the surprise that she hadn't had the heart to tell him that she hated Gore-tex, no matter how practical it was to wear something waterproof anytime one was out-of-doors in this part of the country.

In fact, she thought maybe the reason she hated Gore-tex so much was _because_ it was so practical. It felt like if she wore it just like everyone else did, maybe that meant she was just like everyone else. Maybe it was a symptom of all the ways in which she had lost herself as she tried to conform to Lucky's idea of "right." Or maybe it was just that, since they had only been married a few months at the time and it had been their first Christmas as a married couple, she had been hoping for something a little more romantic than a Gore-tex jacket.

Unfortunately, they couldn't afford the leather jacket she really wanted. She had had a leather jacket as a teenager – had saved all her money from birthdays and Christmases and babysitting for three years before she had enough. And she had worn it exactly three times before Sarah had "borrowed" it, worn it to a party, and while she was busy cheating on Lucky, someone had vomited all over it. The cleaners had been very apologetic, but there was nothing they could do. And their parents had, as always, given Sarah a free pass. Elizabeth had been too heartbroken to save the money herself all over again, and what would have been the point? Sarah would just find a way to ruin it again.

And now Elizabeth lived in Seattle, where it would be the height of impracticality to wear leather.

But she could still remember the feelings that came with wearing that soft leather jacket, and in her secret heart, she wanted to feel it all again. There was just something about a leather jacket that made her feel like a bit of a rebel, like maybe she could ignore the rules if she didn't like them. Like she could do anything and be anyone she chose. Like she was free.

_And look where that feeling got you, Elizabeth,_ she thought wryly. _Wasn't that what_ _gave you the guts to say yes when Lucky asked you out, even though you knew he just wanted to get back at Sarah? And maybe you wanted that, too …_

But none of that mattered now, she told herself. Just a few more weeks and she would be gone. And someday, when she got back on her feet and made a life for herself and her baby, maybe she would buy herself a new leather jacket. Apparently, if the last two days were any indication, she would be back on her feet much sooner than she had expected. Blue Eyes – _Jason_, she reminded herself, had refused to discuss the ridiculousness of the 400 tip he had left her yesterday, and today, it had gone up to 500, and he had again been gone by the time she realized it. She was beginning to suspect a pattern – the more she protested, and the more worked up she got about it, the larger the tip got. He seemed to get a kick out of her arguing with him about it; she could see the twinkle in his eye even when he managed to suppress his grin.

Elizabeth jumped when she heard a faint sound from the direction of the bedroom. Apparently she wasn't alone after all. Startled, she called Lucky's name tentatively.

There was a sudden silence, followed by another muffled sound. With her heart in her throat, Elizabeth started walking toward the bedroom. Halfway there, she paused, thinking of all the horror movies she had ever seen, ones where she had wanted to smack the heroine for being so stupid. She bit her lip in indecision, then concluded it would be better to be safe than sorry. She pulled out her phone, turning with the intention of leaving quickly, before whoever was there decided to disembowel her or something.

But then she heard a voice that sounded decidedly female, and tried to think if the homicidal maniac was ever a woman. As she thought about that, she paused and tried to make out the words. Before she could decide what to do, whether to go outside or to turn around again and go look in the bedroom, the door opened and closed behind her. She thought she would have a heart attack when he spoke, his voice loud and with just a hint of bravado.

"Lizzie, honey, I wasn't expecting you back so soon. I was taking a nap."

She turned slowly to look at him, ignoring for the moment the nickname he knew she hated, and only used when he wanted to distract her by picking a fight. "Lucky, is someone in there?"

"No, of course not," he said, but she heard the edge of defensiveness in his voice. "Who would be in there?"

She stared at him for a moment, feeling shock but no real surprise as she felt the now-familiar certainty settle over her. _He's lying._ And at that moment, she was surprised to feel her heart break as she realized that her marriage was really, truly over. Even with all the evidence of his cheating, with all her plans to get away, some small, stubborn part of her had been clinging to the hope that things would change -- that _he_ would change. She resisted the powerful urge to put a hand on her belly to reassure the baby that everything would be okay. But she was afraid that would tip Lucky off to its existence, so instead, she lifted her hands to her hair and swept it behind her shoulders, then folded her arms loosely across her chest.

All she said was, "I heard a woman's voice. Who's in there?" She was surprised that her tone held nothing more than a detached curiosity – there was no anger, no accusation, not even a hint of simple disappointment. Just that mild curiosity, like she would feel if she thought she saw a fly move in the corner of her eye, and would look by rote to see if that's what it was.

"Lizzie, there's no one there," he insisted. "I had the radio on – maybe that's what you heard."

"Fine," she said. He looked relieved until she pushed past him, saying firmly, "Let's just go look, shall we?"

He grabbed her arm, more roughly than was strictly necessary, insisting yet again, "Why? I already told you there's no one there." She watched him school his features into his "offended" expression, wondering why she hadn't noticed in the hundreds of times she'd seen it before that it wasn't real. He raised his voice to a near-shout, "I can't believe you don't trust me after all we've been through together. How are we supposed to have a marriage if you keep thinking the worst of me?"

She shook his hand off her arm and shot back, "How am I supposed to think anything else when I can see on your face that you're lying?"

"I'm not lying!" He was really yelling at her now, chasing her down the hall. She opened the door, but didn't immediately see anyone. However, she could smell the same expensive perfume that had permeated his shirt a few weeks ago. He continued, almost smugly, "See, I told you no one's here. You better stop this childish crap before you ruin our marriage. You know you can't live without me."

Ignoring him for the moment, Elizabeth called into the room, "You might as well come out, you know. You can come out now, or come out later, but either way I'll be waiting." She paused, and when there was no response other than Lucky's shocked, "_Elizabeth,_" she added with a touch of bitter humor, "My parents used to call me the stubbornest person they knew, and they weren't wrong, so if you think you're going to wait me out, think again. You might as well save us all some time and come out now."

After another pause, Lucky said heatedly, "See? There's no one here. Are you ready to stop making a fool of yourself now?"

She looked at him. "Yes, as a matter of fact, I am. I'm done making a fool of myself over you. And I will be standing right here when your little tramp comes out from wherever she's hiding. Here's a little tip for you, Lucky, if you're going to screw someone in your wife's bed, make sure she doesn't wear perfume." She paused to let that sink in, before adding snidely, "Or maybe it's a she-male. That would sure explain an awful lot." Lucky's jaw dropped, but of more interest to her was the muffled gasp that she heard from the general direction of the slightly open window. She walked to it and opened it wide, then leaned out and stared at the young blond woman she found staring back at her from the rickety fire escape.

She shook her head at how surreal it all was – did this kind of thing even happen in the real world? She had always thought such behavior was reserved for soap operas and telenovelas. She asked sweetly, "Do you want to come in now, or would you rather take your chances leaving that way?" She gestured toward the fire escape's rusty metal stairs.

The other woman said nothing for a moment, just stared at her as though she were some sort of bug under a microscope. After a long moment, she took a cautious step toward the window, and she started talking at a rapid pace as Elizabeth stepped back to let her climb inside. "I told him it was a stupid idea to try to hide out there. I mean, what was I gonna do? Ruin my outfit in the rain or risk breaking a heel climbing down? These are Manolo's, for God's sake. Do you know how much I paid for them?" Elizabeth moved aside to let her in, marveling at how much the woman could say in a single exhale. "Or how long I might have to wait to get a replacement pair?"

Elizabeth said nothing, just waited while the woman climbed inside. Lucky was sputtering something about it not being what it looked like, but she barely heard him, her attention focused completely on the blonde woman. When the woman had both feet on the floor, she took a moment to straighten her clothes and wipe some of the rain from her hair, then looked at Elizabeth for a moment before turning to glare at Lucky. "Shut up, you idiot," she interrupted his ongoing attempt to explain. "I told you hiding out there was a stupid idea. She's obviously got more brains than you do! And I can't believe I even agreed to _try _to hide out there. I could've slipped and been killed, and how would you have explained _that_ to your stupid lieutenant? I can't imagine they would really be able to just brush it under the rug. If nothing else, Mac would probably kick you off the force and then what would you do? It's not like there's a lot of options for disgraced cops to find work in their field, and having the commissioner's daughter fall off your fire escape and die would limit your options even more." She dismissed Lucky with a dramatic wave of her hand, and turned back to Elizabeth. For what seemed like the first time since she had been discovered, she seemed momentarily at a loss for words, but that didn't last long. She said to Elizabeth in a slightly chagrined tone, "For what it's worth, it didn't mean anything. It was just sex."

Elizabeth thought about that for a moment, then said, "Yeah, that doesn't really help. Actually, I think it's almost worse that he was willing to blow our life apart for a meaningless fling. No offense."

"None taken. I called it meaningless first," she pointed out, then continued in her original rapid rhythm that left Elizabeth scrambling to keep up. "I'm Maxie Jones, and I know this is really awkward, but you really should think about whether you want to stay married to an idiot who doesn't have the sense to keep his mistress out of his wife's apartment."

Elizabeth wasn't quite sure how to respond to that, so she settled on introducing herself. "I'm Elizabeth Webber. I would say it's nice to meet you, but under the circumstances …" Maxie nodded, but both she and Lucky looked startled by her use of her maiden name, so Elizabeth added wryly. "Until five minutes ago, it would have been Elizabeth Spencer, but not anymore. Not ever again." She looked at Lucky. "Get out of my apartment and don't ever come back."

Lucky looked stunned, then angry. "I pay for this apartment, and I'm not leaving. And neither are you. You have nowhere else to go," he added smugly. "You're nothing without me." Her eyes widened at his ego.

"Nothing without you, huh?" Elizabeth replied. "I guess we'll see, won't we?" As she turned and left the room, she heard Maxie start laughing – and was that _clapping_?! -- behind her.

"Bravo, Elizabeth! Boy, Lucky, you have a lot to learn about women. A _whole_ lot." Lucky just stood there, frozen, as Maxie rushed to follow Elizabeth out of the room. "Hey Elizabeth, wait up," she called. Elizabeth paused in the act of putting the hated Gore-tex jacket back on and looked at Maxie inquiringly. Maxie said, "I gotta say, Lucky made it sound like you were one of those mousy little goody-goodies that let him walk all over you. I hate women like that, so I don't feel too bad about sleeping with their husbands. If I had known you had a backbone, that you would turn out to be someone I might respect, or even like, I wouldn't have done it. There aren't a lot of women that like me very much, maybe because I have no patience for stupid, annoying people, but I think I could really have liked you. But now because of that stupid idiot in there you probably hate me, and I totally don't blame you, because after all, you _are_ married to the putz, and I _did_ sleep with him, but I really _am_ sorry, and I wish it was different, you know?"

When Maxie paused for breath, Elizabeth said, "Um … I appreciate the apology." She sighed, glancing back at the bedroom, where Lucky's continued frozen stance was starting to make her nervous. "Look, if you want to talk about this, can we go somewhere else? When he gets over the shock, there's no telling what he'll do."

Maxie's eyes narrowed skeptically, but she said, "Okay, if that's what you want, I'm done with him anyway, so I might as well get out of here, too." As Elizabeth opened the door, Maxie asked, "Do you know where you're going?"

They stepped out into the hallway and headed for the ancient elevator. "Not really, no. I guess I'll have to find a hotel." For the first time, she was glad that her blue-eyed benefactor had been so insistent about tipping her so outrageously. At the moment, she had no way to get her stash of tip money from its hiding place with the tampons, so all she had was the five hundred thirty-two dollars she had made today. She wasn't sure how far that would have to stretch, since she didn't know how soon she would be able to get back to the apartment safely to get the rest of the money. The elevator arrived, and the two women stepped in, Maxie pressing the button for the lobby.

Just as the doors started to close, Lucky burst out of the apartment and ran toward them, shouting, "Elizabeth! You better get back here right now. If you leave now, don't come crawling back thinking I'll give you another chance!" The doors shut in his furious face, cutting off whatever else he had to say.

After a long silence, Maxie said, "I see what you mean about his temper." Elizabeth just nodded once. The elevator finally reached the lobby, and Maxie said quickly, "Look, I feel really bad about this whole thing, and I know I'm probably the last person you want to hang around with right now, but I have my car if you need a ride."

Elizabeth started to refuse as they walked out of the building, but then she realized that Lucky could still come after her, so she changed her mind and said, "Okay, thanks." By unspoken agreement, they walked the half-block to Maxie's car at a rapid pace.

Moments later, they both breathed a sigh of relief when they saw Lucky run out of the building just as the car turned the corner out of his sight. After a moment, Elizabeth started laughing. Maxie looked askance at her for several seconds, then asked, "What's so funny? I mean, besides the obvious?"

When she was finally able to talk, between gasps of laughter, Elizabeth replied, "What isn't? You hiding on the fire escape … Me talking to an empty room … Lucky's ridiculous explanation … You and me leaving together … Lucky running after us … Me having nowhere to go … and nothing but the clothes on my back …" Suddenly, she felt tears on her cheeks and realized she wasn't laughing anymore.

Maxie reached over and patted her hand. "It's okay. I know you probably hate me and everything, but if you give me a chance, I can totally make it all up to you. And I just decided you're gonna be my new best friend, and even though it might not seem like it now, I'm totally and completely loyal to the few friends I actually have, and I'll do anything for them -- which means you can stay with me. This will turn out to be the luckiest day of your life – oops, no pun intended." She smiled sheepishly at Elizabeth, who simply stared at her, bemused. "And you don't have to worry about anything, since I'm great at coming up with plans and even better at getting revenge. I already know where to start – do you have your ATM card?" At Elizabeth's slow nod, she smiled. "Good. The first thing we're gonna do is clean out his bank account. Then, we max out the credit cards, and I have a friend who'll hack the accounts right after that; he'll change the records to indicate that Lucky's the only one liable for the debts. While we're at it," she added thoughtfully, "We'll also get my friend to hack the SPD's payroll to show that Lucky's paycheck is court-ordered to go directly to you, and then, just to cover all the bases, we'll find a way to get a court order into the files. And tomorrow after we're done with all that, we'll go back to the apartment and get your stuff." At Elizabeth's expression, she added, "Don't worry, I have a friend at the SPD who'll let me know when Lucky's on duty, so there won't be any chance of running into him."

Elizabeth felt like the past two days, starting with Blue Eyes offering again to help her disappear, and ending with fleeing her apartment with her husband's mistress, just had to be something out of the twilight zone. Was Lucky's mistress really gonna help her get revenge? She finally found her voice, asking sarcastically, "Is that all?"

"No. Then we'll find a way to make him pay." And when Maxie looked over at her again and smiled, Elizabeth found herself believing it – and much to her own amazement, she smiled back.


	18. Chapter 17

_A/N: Sorry for the delay ... life keeps getting in the way of writing lately. But I think you'll enjoy this chapter ... hopefully I'll get back on track this weekend._

**Chapter 17**

**Seattle**

Jason got up early, having decided sometime during the night that he really couldn't, in good conscience, put Spinelli at risk of being arrested if there was even the slightest chance that the file on Elizabeth's sperm donor would identify Jason Quartermaine.

So when he got out of bed early that morning, he immediately opened the file and looked through it. He glanced at the baby photo on the first page without particular interest, then settled in to read about the biological father of Elizabeth's baby. As he absorbed the information, a vague sense of familiarity – and, if he was entirely honest, relief – settled over him. The information sounded a lot like what he had heard about Jason Quartermaine. He looked back at the baby picture on the first page, but unfortunately, he had never spent a lot of time looking at his alter-ego's baby albums, so he just wasn't sure.

When he had first learned of Jason Quartermaine's activities at the sperm bank, Jason had delegated to Spinelli the responsibility for finding out where the sperm had gone. He had felt no particular need to read the file on Jason Q personally. He had simply trusted that Spinelli had found the right profile and then he had acted on the information Spinelli had provided. Now, however, he needed to know for sure if Elizabeth was the woman who had used Jason Q's sperm to become pregnant.

Jason re-read the file on Elizabeth's sperm donor, then looked again at the picture of the donor as a baby. He wished for the first time ever that he had paid more attention back when the family had been shoving Jason Quartermaine down his throat. Sighing, he wondered briefly if he could fax the photo to Monica and ask her about it, but thought probably it would be too fuzzy by the time she got it.

He decided instead to see if Spinelli had brought a copy of Jason Q's profile with him. If not, he would see if Spinelli could somehow scan the information and email it to Monica. He picked up the phone, and five minutes later, Spinelli was on his way back from the diner to give Jason the information he needed.

XXXXXXXXX

Across town, Elizabeth returned to her apartment in the early-morning quiet. Maxie had been determined to prove herself to her self-declared new best friend, and had come through by having a friend at the station call her when Lucky arrived. Elizabeth supposed she herself must have been in some sort of shock last night – otherwise, how would she ever have wound up staying with her husband's ex-mistress? In the light of day, she realized she didn't fully trust the woman, and she wondered whether she would continue to stay there. Still, she thought that until she decided what to do next, it was as good a place as any, and it allowed her to save more money for when the baby came. And in a weird way, it was sort of nice to have Maxie's endless chatter to distract her from the mess her life had become.

In any event, when Maxie had gotten the word that Lucky had arrived at work at 6:30 that morning, she had immediately driven them both to the apartment to pack some of Elizabeth's things. She had dropped Elizabeth off in front of the building and announced that she was going to get them both some coffee. When Elizabeth had asked for hot chocolate instead, Maxie had rolled her eyes and said, "Okay, if that's what you really want. But I don't know how you wake up on gray days like this without a big shot of caffeine." Elizabeth had simply smiled and said that in her experience, chocolate was the best cure for anything that ailed her, including tiredness.

Now, Elizabeth looked around. Lucky had apparently relieved his anger by throwing things around. She stepped carefully around the broken glass from the pictures and empty beer bottles he had thrown on the floor; looking around, she slowly sank down onto the couch, stunned at the tattered remnants of her life with Lucky. She resisted the urge to clean up the mess on the floor. She also resisted the urge to cry. Reaching over to right the houseplant that lay on its side, half out of its pot, on the end table, she jumped when the phone rang.

She was still debating whether to answer it when the answering machine clicked on. She heard her own voice telling the caller to please leave a message, and had pretty much decided not to answer it when she heard her sister-in-law's voice say, "Elizabeth, this is Emily – Steven's wife?"

She shot up off the couch and lunged for the desk, grabbing for the phone. Her heart pounded with concern that something must have happened, and she said breathlessly into the receiver, "Emily, what's wrong? Is everyone okay? Is it Steven, are the kids okay?"

Her panic must have bled through the phone line, because Emily's voice was soothing when she cut in, "Elizabeth, relax, calm down. I didn't mean to scare you. Everyone is fine. Really. It's okay."

Elizabeth took a deep breath and tried to let her racing heart slow down. She barely heard Emily as she continued to assure Elizabeth that everything was all right. She sank back down onto the couch, surprised at how upset she had been at the thought that something might have happened to her brother before she got a chance to make thing right with him.

"Oh," she said, when Emily paused. "I'm glad everything is okay. But then … well, I guess I'm surprised to hear from you …"

"Yeah …" Emily's voice was hesitant at first, but it picked up speed and confidence as she spoke. "Well, I got to thinking the other day – we're family and we've never even met, and we hardly ever even talk. And I know you and Steven haven't really been close, but well, you're both adults now. And you know, family is family, and you're my kids' aunt, and …um, I'd like to get to know you, if that's okay with you. So I called. I hope you don't mind."

"Mind?" Elizabeth was stunned at this turn of events. "No, I don't mind." She paused, not sure how much she should tell Emily. "Actually, I've been thinking about family a lot lately, too. I… well, a lot has been going on, and I don't want to be a burden, but I was thinking that I wish I were closer to my family." Tears welled up in her eyes as she spoke.

"Elizabeth?" Emily sounded concerned. "Are you okay? Because no matter what's happened between you and Steven in the past, you're still family, and if you need us, we're here. You're not a burden, I promise." Emily paused, and when Elizabeth didn't respond, she continued, "Look, I know we hardly know each other, but I'm a good listener, and I won't even tell Steven we talked if you don't want me to. I mean, I told him yesterday I was gonna try to get in touch with you, and he was okay with that, but I don't have to tell him anything you don't want him to know."

Elizabeth sniffed. "I just hate the thought that he'll think I've completely screwed up again, or that I'm showing up just to ask him to bail me out."

"He won't think that. _I_ called _you_, remember? Maybe it was fate or something, that I would call just when you needed me to … what are the odds of that?"

Elizabeth smiled through her tears at Emily's question. "I guess you're right. Um, I don't know how to say this, exactly …"

"It's okay, Elizabeth. Whatever it is, just tell me. I'll do whatever I can to help."

"Okay," Elizabeth felt soothed by Emily's gentle, even tone. She took a deep breath and rushed the words out on one long exhale, "I'm pregnant and Lucky's been cheating on me and I left him and I'm staying with his mistress and I got a job and I'm saving money and I was thinking of moving near you and Steven and starting over but I don't want to be a burden so if you don't want me to, just say so and I'll go somewhere else."

"Elizabeth, slow down and breathe, okay?" She paused, then said, "Okay, now, first of all, how do you know Lucky's cheating on you? And what do you mean, you're staying with his mistress?"

"It's a long story, but I guess the important part is that I walked in on them here in my apartment last night, and she apparently felt bad and decided to dump him and says she's gonna make it up to me, so she said I could stay with her. She's kind of a force of nature, and she says she's gonna get revenge on him on my behalf…" Elizabeth realized she was rambling and let her voice trail off. "Anyway, it's just for a little while until I can move somewhere else and start over."

Emily said, "Okay, about that, Elizabeth, you will not even _think _of going somewhere else, got that? We're your family and you're coming here as soon as you possibly can. I'll send you a plane ticket, and I'll pick you up at the airport, and you'll stay with us as long as you need to."

"What? No, Emily, that's not necessary. I have some money saved and I can just take a bus."

"No way. We're family -- you're pregnant with my niece or nephew and I won't have you traveling all that way on a bus."

"Emily, I don't want you to buy me a plane ticket. I'll take the bus or I won't come at all."

"Elizabeth, don't be stubborn." Emily let out an exasperated breath. "Traveling all that way by bus can't possibly be good for you or the baby. It'll take days, and you won't be able to get enough rest or anything, and god knows what you'll get to eat along the way."

"I'll be fine," Elizabeth insisted.

Emily apparently decided to try another tactic. "Well, I can see the Webber stubbornness didn't skip you," she joked, making Elizabeth giggle through her tears. "Listen, I have another idea, so just hear me out, okay?"

"Emily –"

"Just hear me out and then decide, please?"

"Okay, fine. What's your idea?"

"Well, my brother Jason's in Seattle on business right now, along with one of his … um, co-workers." Emily rushed to continue. Elizabeth absently wondered about her hesitation in describing the man's traveling companion, but Emily was still speaking, so she couldn't ask about it. "They'll be there for a couple more weeks at most, and then they'll be flying back on his partner's private jet. If you can hold out for that long, you could hitch a ride back with them – the jet is never full, anyway, so they won't care."

Elizabeth said, letting a hint of suspicion sound in her voice, "They just happen to be in Seattle on business?"

"Fate, remember?" Emily said airily. "They have to stop in the Midwest for a few days on the way back, but that's not a big deal, right? It beats taking a bus all the way across the country, and it really won't be a problem for them." She paused. "Or … you could just let me buy you a plane ticket instead …"

Elizabeth sighed. "I see the Quartermaine stubbornness rivals the Webber stubbornness."

Emily giggled, "Does that mean you'll take the ride?"

Elizabeth couldn't help smiling, "If you check with them and they really don't have a problem with it, I guess I will."

"Okay, I'll call you back after I talk to him, but I can tell you now it won't be a problem."

Elizabeth said, "Let me give you my cell number. I'm not staying here and if Lucky knows you're calling me … well, he's been pretty … um, volatile lately, so it's better if he doesn't know."

"Elizabeth, are you there alone?" Emily sounded alarmed. Without giving her a chance to answer, Emily continued, "What if he comes home? You know what? I think I'm gonna call Jason now and ask him to come check on you. Give me your cell number."

"I'm fine, Emily, he doesn't have to drop everything to babysit me. Maxie will be back any minute, and Lucky is working, so it'll be fine." She gave Emily her cell number, hoping to distract the woman from her concern.

Emily took down the number, and decided not to argue the point. She would just call Jason anyway and let him do whatever he wanted with the information. "Is there a particular time of day that's best to call?"

"Not really -- now that I'm not staying with Lucky, anytime is fine."

"Okay, I'll talk to you in a day or two. In the meantime, call me if you need anything at all. Do you have my cell number?"

Elizabeth took down Emily's number, and they chatted for a few minutes longer before saying good-bye. Elizabeth was thrilled and bemused by this turn of events. _Maybe my luck is really changing_, she thought as she made sure the answering machine hadn't saved any trace of Emily's call. She stood to go start packing, no longer the least bit concerned with the mess around her. She glanced at her watch just as Maxie came through the door with coffee and hot chocolate. Elizabeth said, "You'll never believe what just happened …"

**Port Charles**

After hanging up with Elizabeth, Emily looked at her watch. 11 am. She hadn't really thought about how early it was in Seattle when she had called Elizabeth. She had felt a little guilty letting Elizabeth think it was fate that she had called or that she hadn't already heard about some of Elizabeth's problems before they spoke. She was relieved, however, that Elizabeth hadn't actually made her promise not to say anything to Steven. She didn't want to betray the woman's trust, but she didn't like keeping things from her husband. And she fully intended to tell Elizabeth everything once the woman was settled nearby.

She shook off her worry about how Elizabeth might react to that and decided to call Jason even though it was still early there. She needed to get his agreement – and Sonny's – to the use of Sonny's plane. She didn't think it would be a problem once the situation was made clear, but she had promised Elizabeth that she would make sure it wasn't a problem, and that was what she planned to do. More importantly, she was really worried about Elizabeth being alone in her apartment – she was certain that Elizabeth was sugarcoating Lucky's behavior, and she was positive Jason would want to know about this latest turn of events as soon as possible.

With Elizabeth's potential vulnerability uppermost in her mind, Emily immediately picked up the phone and called Jason. He answered, "Hey, Emily, what's up?"

She replied, "I talked to Elizabeth."

"What did she say?"

"Well, apparently she just caught her husband cheating on her. She left him last night."

"Where is she now?" His voice was concerned.

"Um, well, apparently she's back at the apartment, packing some of her stuff."

"What? Where is _he_?"

"She says he's at work, but Jason, what if he comes home while she's there? She says he's been volatile lately, and I just know she's afraid of him."

"Don't worry about it. I'll take care of it."

"Do you need her address?"

"No, I have it. I'll get there as soon as I can. Does she know I'm coming?"

"Well, I told her I wanted to call you, but she said she didn't want to make you drop everything to babysit her, so I didn't argue with her. Listen, Jason, the other thing is you'll need to fly back on Sonny's jet and convince her it's really okay for her to hitch a ride. She's really obsessed with the idea that she doesn't want to be a burden, and she was threatening to take a bus rather than let me buy her a plane ticket."

"Don't worry, Em, I'll take care of it." Emily was surprised to hear the amusement that had crept into his voice. "I gotta go. I'll call you later."

"Do you want me to call her back and tell her you're coming?"

"Yeah, just don't give her my number – it'll be easier if she can't call me and tell me not to come."

Emily laughed, relieved that Jason was going to make sure her sister-in-law stayed safe. "Just how well do you know her, anyway? You know what, never mind. Just make sure she's with you when you come home." She paused, then offered, "I can call Sonny about the jet if you want."

"It's probably best to talk to Brenda, and see if she'll talk to Sonny. He's not entirely happy with me right now. Tell her we'll probably be ready to go in a few days."

"I thought it was gonna be a couple more weeks?"

"Things changed. We should be able to wrap it up in a day or two."

"Oh, okay. Do me a favor and let me know when you get to Elizabeth's. I'm really worried about what her husband will do if he comes home and finds her packing."

As soon as she had Jason's agreement to that, they said good-bye and hung up. Emily immediately called Brenda.

When Brenda answered, Emily asked, "Can you talk?"

"Yeah," she said cheerfully. "Sonny's at the warehouse, and Adela's out with Leticia. What's up?"

"I need a favor. Well, Jason and I both need a favor."

"Sure. What kind of favor?"

"I need Jason to be coming home on Sonny's jet when he leaves Seattle."

"What? Why?"

"My sister-in-law is in Seattle and she needs to come to Port Charles. She won't let me buy her a plane ticket and says she'll take the bus, but she's pregnant, and I don't want her to do that, and neither does Jason."

"Wait, you have a sister-in-law in Seattle? And how does Jason fit in? Does he know her?"

"Yeah, it's Steven's sister Elizabeth. She hasn't been close to the family, but apparently her husband's an ass and has been cheating on her and she just left him. She wants to move here and try to start over near us. I guess now that she's pregnant, she's realizing the importance of family and wants to try to develop a better relationship with Steven."

"Wow, okay, but how does Jason fit it?" Brenda asked again.

"Well, the only reason I know all this is because Jason met her by accident in Seattle, and somehow he found all this out and he called me about it."

"Oh. Weird. I wonder why she would've told Jason all that. Unless she knows he's your brother?"

Emily laughed. "No, I'm sure that's not it. She would have mentioned it if she knew, don't you think? Besides, he must've gotten the information somewhere else, because he called me to ask if Steven had a sister out there. I thought maybe he had Spinelli dig up information on her."

Brenda paused, then thought out loud. "I wonder if this has anything to do with why Jason's spending so long in Seattle. Or why Spinelli thinks Jason is stressed." She paused. "Or why he needed Johnny out there."

"Johnny's out there now?" Emily was surprised at that bit of information. "Maybe that is related," she conceded. "Jason seemed pretty determined to help her when I talked to him earlier. Said he had offered to help her disappear already but didn't think she'd take him up on it. So apparently he decided to find out about her family and see about getting them to offer to help her. And to his surprise, he found me and Steven. Oh, and he said he'll probably be ready to leave Seattle in a couple of days."

"Reeeaaaallllly?" Brenda drew the word out, sounded pensive, but when she continued, her voice was once again matter-of-fact. "Well, don't worry, I'll get the whole story out of him eventually. Meanwhile, Sonny's not too happy with Jason right now."

"Yeah, Jason mentioned that. What's that about?"

"What that is about, is that Sonny's stupid, slutty sister is trying to trap Jason into marriage and Sonny refuses to see that." When Emily started to sputter with indignation, she added, "Don't worry, I'll be taking care of that problem soon enough, too. So just tell Jason to call us when he's ready to leave and we'll send the jet."

"Ok, thanks, Brenda." The women exchanged good-byes and hung up.

XXXXXXXXX

An hour later, Brenda walked into the restaurant at the Metro Court Hotel and headed straight for the bar. Ritchie had called a little while ago, saying that the McCall woman was there, looking unhappy. Ritchie had been tailing the woman for days, now, ever since Jason and Spinelli had identified her in Palm Beach, and Jason had told him yesterday that Brenda needed an opportunity to "accidentally" meet the woman. This was the first time the opportunity had presented itself, and Brenda was going to make the most of it.

She sat on a barstool, leaving an empty one between her and her mark. "Harry," she called to the bartender. "I need a drink, and make it a strong one. In fact, just bring me a bottle of tequila and we'll call it good."

"Now, Mrs. Corinthos," he said in a placating tone, "You know Mr. Corinthos doesn't like it when you drink too much."

"Do I look like I care what Mr. Corinthos likes?" Brenda asked impatiently. "Mr. Corinthos can take a flying leap, for all I care." She turned toward the McCall woman, and said the one word guaranteed to make a woman talk, in her experience. "Men," she huffed, and rolled her eyes. She turned back to Harry. "Bring me the bottle," she said, "Or I won't be responsible for my actions."

"Wow," Sam said, "You sound like your day is going as badly as mine."

Brenda concealed her triumphant smile before looking at the woman and raising a brow. "Are you married? 'Cause if you're not, no offense, but your day can't possibly be as bad as mine."

"Care to wager on that?" Sam asked with a smug smile.

"Sure, what do you want to bet?"

Sam shrugged, then said, "Well, we could compare horror stories over lunch, and the loser could pick up the tab."

"Okay, but who decides which story is worse?"

"Well, how about that guy that came in behind you? Can he be impartial?"

"Max," Brenda called, "C'mere." He moved toward them. "Can you be an impartial judge of who's having the worst day?"

"Mrs. C –" Max looked uncomfortable at the idea.

"I promise I won't get mad if you pick her, okay?"

The guard looked like he wished he was anywhere else, doing anything else, but he said, "Okay, I guess."

"Great. Let's get a table." The bartender breathed a sigh of relief as Brenda led the way into the restaurant, the tequila apparently forgotten. The maitre-d seated them at a table by the windows, and then, used to the routine, seated Max at a nearby table, where he would drink soda and watch out for Brenda's safety.

Sam asked, "How's he gonna be the judge if he doesn't hear the story?"

Brenda smiled and said, "We'll just give him the highlights when the time comes. It's really hard to do any decent man-bashing when there's a man listening. Oh, I'm Brenda, by the way."

"That's true, I guess. I'm Sam. It's nice to meet you. I hardly know anyone in this town." The two women made small talk while they ate, and Brenda learned plenty about Samantha McCall, while telling the other woman only what she wanted her to know about herself. She learned immediately that Sam was pregnant, when she ordered herself a Cosmopolitan and the other woman said, "Oh, I'm so jealous," before ordering ginger ale. At Brenda's raised brow, she said, "I'm pregnant, so no alcohol, no matter how bad my day is." Brenda had clucked sympathetically, not letting on that she already knew the woman was pregnant.

Eventually, the discussion came around to what made their days bad. Brenda insisted that Sam go first, and listened with rapt attention as Sam told her that the father of her unborn child, Jasper Jax, was marrying Skye Quartermaine in just a few days, on Valentine's Day, and he didn't even know about the baby yet. Brenda was intrigued to hear about how Jax's brother hated Sam and was doing everything in his power to keep her away from both the man and the fiancé, and how because of that, Sam was beginning to fear she would have to make a scene at the wedding itself.

After hearing Sam's story, Brenda laughed and let Max off the hook. "I admit it, you've got me beat. I'm just pissed at my husband because he's being an ass to our best friend Jason, all because Sonny's tramp of a sister is manipulating him." She changed the subject, relieved that Sam's interest in the Quartermaines was apparently due to Skye's connection to Jax rather than to Jason's possible relationship with the baby. "Now, how about some dessert? You deserve something to cheer you up, and since alcohol is out, you're stuck with sugar. And you might as well, since you won our bet."

Sam laughed with her, and said, "Well, I have to say, I'm feeling a lot better now. But I would still love some dessert. What have they got that's decadent?"


	19. Chapter 18

_A/N: This one was fun to write ... some Liason, and Lucky "meets" a few people ..._

**Chapter 18**

**Port Charles**

Jerry sat in his suite, considering what to do about Sam. He reviewed the file of information on her for the third time that day. He was certain he had to be missing something about the situation; otherwise, Sam's continued presence made no sense. She had seen for herself that Jax was head over heels for Skye; she had to know that her chances of breaking the couple apart before their wedding were non-existent. All his investigations indicated she was a savvy enough con woman to know when to cut her losses.

So why was she still here?

The fact that she hadn't left indicated that whatever he was missing, it was big enough that she thought even the obvious bond between Jax and Skye would be unable to overcome it. Which, Jerry supposed, probably meant some kind of blackmail. But what could she possibly hold over Jax?

Or perhaps her leverage was on Skye?

Jerry dismissed the latter idea. He had known Skye for years, and still had investigated her thoroughly before introducing her to Jax. Although she hadn't been a saint, he would bet his life – and more importantly, his brother's – that there was simply nothing hidden in her history that could be big enough to interfere with the wedding or her relationship with Jax.

But the former idea made little sense, either. Jax was scrupulously honest in his business, and other than a history of being a bit of a playboy, he had no skeletons in his personal life, either. And even there, Jax had always been very upfront with women he dated about what they could and could not hope for in their dealings with him. He had even managed to remain on friendly terms with most of them.

So what could Sam possibly have on Jax? His investigators had as yet been unable to figure it out, either. Jerry sighed and put aside the file on Sam. He picked up the phone and asked the desk clerk, "Where is Ms. McCall now?"

His lips quirked up upon hearing that she was having lunch with Mrs. Corinthos in the Metro Court restaurant. He didn't believe in coincidence, so he assumed that Mrs. Corinthos was somehow involved in the Corinthos organization's investigation into Sam. He filed that information away for the moment. The important thing was that Sam was not in her room, so he could search it to see if he could glean a hint of what she might have on Jax. He walked over to the connecting door, unlocking it. He had known it would be helpful to have Sam placed in the room adjoining his, which is why he had arranged it with one of the desk clerks when he had realized Sam was heading for Port Charles. Now, he noted with satisfaction that the maid had unlocked Sam's side of the door, just as she had promised to do in exchange for the hefty tip he had provided.

He slipped quickly into the room, and methodically searched her luggage. Finding nothing, he checked the dresser, the desk, the closet, and the nightstand. Nothing of interest in any of those places, either. He sighed, frustrated, and out of desperation, he went into the bathroom, not really expecting to find anything, but knowing he wouldn't rest easily if he didn't look everywhere. He turned on the light, and his eyes immediately spied the pharmacy bottle sitting on the counter. He picked it up and read the prescription information: prenatal vitamins.

Light dawned when he realized that Sam was pregnant … or, he thought jadedly, was convincingly faking pregnancy. He went to the other room and tore a piece of paper from the notepad supplied by the hotel, and quickly jotted down the names of the doctor and pharmacy that had supplied the prescription. He replaced the bottle and the pen where he had found them, and quickly slipped back into his own room.

**Seattle**

Elizabeth and Maxie worked quickly to pack Elizabeth's things. Despite what she had told Emily, Elizabeth was a little nervous that Lucky might come back, and she wanted to be gone before he did. Fortunately, Elizabeth didn't have to worry about getting to work; at Maxie's insistence, Elizabeth had called Elaine and explained what had happened, and Elaine had told her to take the day off and get her packing done.

Maxie chattered away non-stop while they worked in the bedroom, making a running commentary about Elizabeth's wardrobe. Apparently, a few items met with her approval, while the rest were simply not up to snuff. Elizabeth wasn't offended; she had never considered fashion particularly important, which was good because she couldn't afford to keep up with the latest trends. Nevertheless, she kept half an ear on what Maxie was saying, grateful that she wasn't alone with her thoughts, and she responded appropriately whenever Maxie paused for breath.

Emily had called back a little while after Maxie had arrived with the hot chocolate and coffee. She had said that her brother and his friends were happy to have her fly home with them, and that they were on their way over now to help her pack.

Elizabeth had tried to protest, but Emily refused to listen. She said, "Elizabeth, he's concerned about you. What if Lucky comes home? There's no way Jason will leave you unprotected now that he knows you're family. Just let him help you, okay? Please?"

Elizabeth reluctantly agreed, and she started to ask Emily how much she had told her brother about what was going on between her and Lucky and Maxie, but Emily suddenly said, "Oh, no, I'm gonna be late for work. Look, I'll call you tonight. Just let Jason help you for now, okay?"

Elizabeth sighed and agreed, promising to tell her later how everything went. She had just returned to packing her clothes with Maxie when there was a knock at the door.

She pulled it open, starting to explain, "Look, it's nice of you to offer to help me but Emily is …" she trailed off as her eyes adjusted to the dim light in the hallway and she recognized the man standing there. "Mr. Morgan? What are you doing here?" Her voice was curious.

He shrugged, his eyes dropping briefly to her belly and then quickly returning to hers. She wondered absently at the soft look in them. "It's a small world, I guess. Emily is my sister, and you must be her sister-in-law. And as you already know, my name is Jason."

Elizabeth was momentarily speechless, so Jason continued, gesturing to the two men standing behind him holding boxes and packing tape. "These are my friends, Johnny and Spinelli. What do you need us to do?"

She looked the two men over. One looked vaguely familiar. She was sure she had seen him somewhere, but she couldn't place it. The other she had never seen before. After a moment, she seemed to snap out of it. "It's nice to meet you." They nodded, and she stepped aside to let them in as she continued, "I tried to explain to Emily, I can pack on my own. Maxie is helping me. I'm sure you're busy, so you don't need to waste your time with me."

He smiled, "As a matter of fact, we have nothing planned until this evening, and we hate having nothing to do. Right, Johnny?" He looked at the taller of the two men, who nodded but said nothing. "So we'd really appreciate it if you would let us help you. Now, who's Maxie?"

Maxie appeared in the doorway. "I heard my name." She looked the men over and added, "And who are these hotties, Elizabeth?"

Elizabeth pointed out each of the men in turn. "Um, this is my sister-in-law's brother, Jason, and that's Johnny and Spinelli. Emily sent them to help us."

Maxie walked over to Spinelli, who was staring at her, apparently speechless. "Oh, good, I wasn't looking forward to doing any heavy lifting, so I was gonna call some guys I know to do it in a little while, but now I won't have to." She trailed her hand down Spinelli's arm. "Now we have big, strong men here to take care of it, so I won't worry about it." Spinelli turned bright red when she smiled at him.

"Where would you like us to start, Ms. Webber?" Johnny asked politely, drawing her attention away from Spinelli and Maxie. Spinelli was stammering a greeting to the younger woman.

"It's Elizabeth," she replied automatically. "And I guess you can pack up the stuff in the desk …"

"My pleasure," he said, smiling. He caught Jason frowning at him, so he let his smile fade as he moved over to the desk. "Do you want everything to go, or should some of it stay behind?"

She frowned. "I don't know. I guess some of it is probably Lucky's, but I'm not sure what's there. Actually, why don't you start with the books? They're all mine. Lucky doesn't really read."

He smiled and headed to the book shelf. "Spinelli, get over here," he called, startling the younger man out of his fascination with Maxie.

Spinelli hastened over to the desk and said, "Perhaps the Jackal could assist by disassembling the sister of the fair Emily's portal to cyberspace?" Maxie disappeared back into the bedroom.

"Oh," Elizabeth said. Fortunately, Spinelli had gestured to the computer as he spoke, or she would have had no idea what he was talking about. "I don't know if we should take that. Lucky bought it …"

Jason asked, "Will you have use for a computer when you get to Port Charles?"

"I don't know. Maybe." Her voice was uncertain, and Jason wanted to say to forget it, he'd buy her a new one, but he knew she'd refuse and probably get annoyed, and as much as he usually enjoyed that, this wasn't the time for it, so he said to Spinelli, "We'll take it."

Spinelli nodded, said, "The master's wish is the grasshopper's command," and went to work.

"Are you sure you're gonna have room for all this stuff on the plane?" Elizabeth asked skeptically.

"Yes."

"How do you know?" she asked.

He looked at her, raising a brow, but he said only, "I know."

"Okay," she said, still sounding uncertain. "I'm gonna go help Maxie."

She felt his eyes on her, but he said nothing more, just pulled out his cellphone as she walked into the bedroom. She heard him say, "Hey, Em, we're here," before his voice faded behind her.

Everyone worked steadily for the next couple of hours, and Elizabeth tried more than once to tell the men that since they were practically done, they could go ahead and get back to whatever else they had to do. Each time, Johnny ignored her completely, Spinelli said something unintelligible to Elizabeth's untrained ear, and Jason just kept replying with some variation of, "we have nowhere else to be, so we might as well finish up here."

Several times, Jason caught Elizabeth lifting things he deemed too heavy for her – a box of books, a large suitcase, a box of kitchenware. Each time, he took the offending item from her and scolded her gently. Finally, when he walked into the bedroom to ask about some CDs and found her struggling with a box full of shoes, he said, "That's it. Come with me."

"What?" she asked, startled. "Where are we going?"

"It's lunchtime, and since I obviously can't trust you not to lift heavy things, you and I are gonna go pick up lunch for everyone." He steered her toward the door, grabbing her jacket off the coatrack as he called over his shoulder, "Johnny, you're in charge."

"Sure thing, boss," Johnny replied. "We're almost done, so I'll see about getting a truck to pick this stuff up. In fact, it might make sense to just send it ahead by truck, and that way it'll be there waiting when she gets to Port Charles."

"Sounds good. Thanks," Jason said, shutting the door firmly behind him.

"Wait, you can't just order me around, and maybe I don't want to send it ahead by truck," Elizabeth huffed.

He smiled at her, "We can talk about how to move your stuff when we get back. Now, are you or are you not pregnant?" he asked.

"Well, yes, but …"

He interrupted. "And were you or were you not trying to lift things that weigh almost as much as you do?"

"I think you're exaggerating, Jason."

"Am I?" He shook his head, amused, as he let her precede him onto the elevator. "I don't think so."

"I think you are." The elevator began creaking its way down to the ground floor.

He shook his head again. Instead of arguing the point further, he asked, "When was the last time you ate?"

"I had some toast this morning," she said proudly, as though she were reporting having solved the world hunger problem.

"Elizabeth, that was hours ago. You need to take better care of yourself."

"I take care of myself," she muttered crossly, stepping out of the elevator as soon as it opened.

"And look at that," he pointed out reasonably. "You're irritable, which probably means you're hungry." He steered her down the street toward a pizza place he had seen on the corner. "Is this place any good? Or do you want to go somewhere else?"

"I'm not irritable," she snapped. When he raised a brow, she blushed and said more moderately, "I guess I am kind of hungry, though." Indeed, the smells wafting out of the place were making her stomach growl. "And this place is fine." He laughed and held the door for her.

XXXXXXXXXX

Maxie's phone rang just as she and Johnny decided they had packed the last of Elizabeth's things, and that there was nothing to do but wait for the truck to arrive. Johnny went to talk to Spinelli to give Maxie some privacy, but his head snapped back to her when she shrieked, "Why didn't you call me sooner? If he left that long ago, he could be here any minute! … Yes, I know you're calling me now, but that isn't helpful, Rocco! … Yes, better late than never, but still not good enough! … We wanted to be gone by the time he came home, and now we won't … Oh, fine, then, I guess I better go … Yeah, whatever, bye." She hung up and looked at Johnny. "That was my friend at the police station. Lucky left work half an hour ago. He could be here any minute."

Johnny just looked at her for a moment without saying anything, then he pulled out his own phone and called Jason. When he picked up, Johnny said, "The husband's on his way home, should be here any minute. How do you want me to handle it?"

Jason paused, and Johnny assumed he was moving to prevent Elizabeth overhearing. Jason said quietly, "Help him understand the new situation."

"How persuasive do you want me to be?"

"Nothing permanent at this point, but be clear."

"Okay. I assume you're gonna keep her away?"

"Yeah. I don't want her upset."

"Okay, I'll take care of it." Johnny hung up and turned back to Maxie. "You might want to wait in the other room."

"What?" she asked, sounding annoyed. "May I remind you that I'm the only one here that Lucky knows? What if he thinks you're burglars and shoots you or something? Then it would be a big mess and I would have to testify and my father might find out about all kinds of things he'd be happier not knowing. And then –"

"Okay, fine," Johnny interrupted when she showed no signs of shutting up. "You can stay and introduce us as movers. Then you can go into the bedroom. Spinelli, why don't you hang out back there, too. I can handle this."

Spinelli said, "Perhaps the protector of the night will need backup?"

"I doubt it, Spinelli, but if I do, I'll call you." Johnny turned back to Maxie. "I mean it, you should get out of the way of the discussion as soon as you introduce us. Things could get … messy."

"Fine," she huffed. "But remember he's a cop. It's probably a bad idea to let things get messy."

"Who are you kidding? You love messy."

She didn't take offense, as he had half expected. "Maybe I do and maybe I don't. But I guarantee Elizabeth doesn't, and since she's my new best friend, I don't want this to upset her. She's taken enough crap because of Lucky and me in the last 24 hours …"

She trailed off as she heard a key in the lock, and she moved to stand in the entryway. Lucky stepped in and saw her. He frowned, "Maxie, what are you doing here? How did you get in?" Having not yet noticed Johnny, he smiled and began slinking over toward her, "Couldn't stay away, huh?"

"Shut up, you putz," Maxie said, stepping back. "I'm not here to see you. I'm helping my new best friend pack her stuff to move out of her cheating husband's dinky little apartment."

"Elizabeth's here?" Lucky looked past her hopefully, catching sight of Johnny for the first time. He frowned again. "Who the hell are you?" he asked. Before Johnny could answer, he turned to Maxie. "Who the hell is he? And what do you mean, your new best friend? You only met Elizabeth last night."

"That's my friend, Johnny." Johnny noticed the slight variation in the story he had given her. "We're helping Elizabeth, who I have decided is my new best friend, move out of here. And no, Elizabeth's not here. She went to get lunch for everyone."

"How's she gonna do that? She doesn't have any money." He turned back to Johnny. "And I don't know what you think she's gonna pay you with. She doesn't have any money," he repeated.

"Wow, you are stupid, aren't you, Lucky? Obviously, I gave her money," Maxie said, even though Johnny knew she hadn't. He had to admire a girl who could look a guy straight in the eye and lie so convincingly. "That's what best friends do for each other."

Johnny was so impressed with her believability that he decided to back Maxie up rather than urge her out of the room. This putz didn't need to know about Jason or his connection to Emily – keeping him in the dark about that could save them all some trouble down the line – but if he thought Johnny was a friend of Maxie's, that would work.

He said to Lucky, "My friend and I are helping Elizabeth move because Maxie asked us to. You know, any friend of Maxie's, and all that. We're not expecting payment and we wouldn't take it if it was offered." He allowed the smallest hint of menace to enter his tone as he continued. "And I think it would be best for everyone if you just … left. Come back in a couple of hours."

"I'm not leaving a bunch of strangers alone in my apartment," Lucky shouted. "I'm waiting for Elizabeth to get back, and we'll talk this out and she'll change her mind."

"From what I can tell," Johnny said reasonably, "You and Maxie aren't exactly strangers. And I really think it would be in everyone's best interest for you to wait somewhere else until we're gone, since it's clear to me that Elizabeth isn't changing her mind."

"What do you mean, in everyone's best interest?" Lucky bellowed. "This is my apartment, and you're threatening a cop."

"What threat?" Johnny asked. He turned to Maxie. "Did you hear a threat?"

"No," Maxie said, sounding amused. "I heard a statement of opinion. And I have to say, Lucky, I agree with Johnny. I think it would be in everyone's best interest, including yours, if you aren't here when Elizabeth comes back." Lucky took a menacing step toward Maxie, who, to her credit, didn't flinch. Johnny stepped between them.

"You wouldn't be thinking of trying to intimidate a lady, would you?" he asked, still with just a hint of menace in his tone. "'Cause I have to say, that would really irritate me. And I don't think you want to see me irritated."

Lucky snorted. "I don't see a lady here, so I don't know what you're getting all worked up about."

Johnny smiled in a way that he had done a million times before to strike fear into better men than this one. "I really think it would be in your best interests to apologize for that unkind remark, Mr. Spencer." Without looking away from Lucky, he asked over his shoulder, "Maxie, you would like an apology from Mr. Spencer for his rudeness, wouldn't you?"

"Yes," Maxie said, even though he knew she probably didn't care that much. "I really would."

Lucky said, "I'm not apologizing to that slut."

Johnny raised a brow. "Aren't you?" Leaning forward slightly, Johnny allowed the hint of menace in his voice and stance increase ever so slightly.

Lucky swallowed, hard, and paled, as if he had suddenly realizing that he might be in over his head. After a long moment, he looked down and mumbled. "I apologize."

"Good," Johnny said. "Now, I believe you were just leaving."

"Fine," Lucky huffed, trying to peer around Johnny at Maxie. Johnny moved with him to prevent it. Finally giving up, Lucky turned to go, calling over his shoulder, "Maxie, you can tell Elizabeth I'll talk to her later"

"Yeah, right," she said. "Like I'm gonna upset her for no reason. Bye, Lucky."

They watched as Lucky left.

Johnny turned to look at Maxie consideringly, and found her sizing him up as well. "How did you ever get mixed up with that putz, anyway?"

She waved a hand airily, "I met him down at the police station, and he seemed cute, if a little dumb, and he made Elizabeth sound like a boring, mousy, little goody-goody, and I had nothing better to do –"

"Stop," he groaned. "Forget I asked."

"Well, anyway, the good news is, I met Elizabeth, and I'm gonna be the best friend she ever had." She smiled sunnily.

He said, "Well, she's moving across the country in a couple of days." He frowned as another thought occurred to him. "You know he's probably gonna hassle you when he discovers Elizabeth moved away."

She dismissed that with a wave. "I can handle Lucky. He's too afraid of my father to give me any real trouble."

"Your father?" he asked, perplexed.

"Yeah," she said. "Mac Scorpio, the police commissioner."

Johnny groaned aloud. "Great. The police commissioner's daughter." What was it about this town that he kept coming into contact with cops and their relatives?

"Hey! What's that supposed to mean?"

"Nothing," Johnny said. "I have to call Jason and tell him the coast is clear." He pulled out his cellphone, turning away from her to place the call.

XXXXXXXXXXX

Elizabeth was confused. Jason had no sooner gotten a cryptic phone call than he decided he needed to eat before they walked back to the apartment. He teased and cajoled her into eating with him, insisting that everyone else wouldn't mind if they ate here, and reminding her that she was getting irritable from hunger.

She was perplexed by this sudden need to eat _right now_, but she finally decided to humor him. Her interactions with him to date indicated that he could be a very stubborn man when he wanted to be, and for some reason that was entirely beyond her, he was being stubborn now. So they split a cheese pizza, and when they were done, he ordered another one to go for the people back at the apartment. The whole time, he kept her so distracted, telling her about his sister and her brother and their life in Port Charles, that she was surprised when the phone rang again and she realized almost an hour had passed. He listened for a moment, then said, "Okay, thanks." He hung up and smiled at her. "You ready to go?" he asked. As if on cue, the man at the counter called that their to-go order was ready.

"Sure," she said, standing and smiling at him.

He paid for the pizza, dismissing her argument that they were helping her so she should pay by saying, "You're family." He grabbed the box and gestured toward the door. She sighed and walked out ahead of him.

As they walked up the street back to the apartment, she heard someone shouting her name. She turned automatically, and froze when she saw Lucky running out of the local pub and racing toward them. He skidded to a stop in front of her. He was so focused on her that he didn't seem to notice Jason. "Elizabeth, you have to listen to me. You can't leave. We can work everything out. It didn't mean anything, I swear."

"Lucky, let's not do this," she sighed. "It's over. If you're really honest, it's been over for a long time." She turned to Jason, saying, "Let's go. The pizza will get cold."

"Wait!" Lucky barked. "Where do you think you're going? And who the hell is this?"

"None of your business, Lucky." She turned to leave again, but Lucky grabbed her arm.

Jason said calmly, "Move your hand if you want to keep it."

Lucky glared at him, keeping his grip on Elizabeth. "Elizabeth is my wife. This is none of your business, so why don't you butt out?"

"Elizabeth just said she doesn't want to talk to you. You need to respect that."

"Who's gonna make me? You?"

"If necessary." Jason looked pointedly at the hand Lucky hadn't yet removed from Elizabeth's arm. Lucky removed it, only to take a wild swing at Jason, who caught Lucky's fist in his free hand and used it to shove Lucky, who stumbled back a couple of steps. Jason looked at Elizabeth and sighed, handing her the pizza. "Hold this for a minute, okay?" She took it, just as Lucky came back at Jason with another punch, which Jason again blocked easily.

Elizabeth couldn't believe how quickly it was over. One minute, Lucky had been charging at Jason, the next, he was lying crumpled on the ground, gasping for breath. Jason bent down and said so quietly that Elizabeth had to strain to hear him, "If she wants to talk to you, she'll be in touch. Until then, don't call her, don't try to see her, don't even think about her." He straightened, stepping over Lucky, took the pizza back from Elizabeth, and then extended his other hand to her. She glanced at Lucky one last time, then placed her hand in Jason's and let him lead her away.


	20. Chapter 19

**Chapter 19**

**Port Charles**

Late that afternoon, Brenda walked into Sonny's office carrying a bulging file folder. She was not looking forward to telling Sonny his sister was a slut and a liar, but it had to be done, and soon. She wanted Sonny to have time to adjust to the truth before Jason came home. He looked up from the papers he was reading and gave her a dimpled smile. "Well, this is a nice surprise." He stood and walked over to greet her with a kiss. "What brings you here?"

Brenda smiled cautiously and said, "Well, I got some information, and I thought you should see it as soon as possible."

He frowned at her concerned tone. "What kind of information? About what?"

"Um, well, maybe you should just look for yourself." She held the file out to him.

He raised a brow but made no move to take the file. He asked in a dark tone, "Why don't you just tell me instead of making me wade through all that stuff?"

Brenda sighed. "Look, Sonny, I don't want to upset you, but …" she paused, bracing herself for the eruption to come, and said in a rush, "The thing is, Sonny, Jason isn't the father of Courtney's baby. AJ is."

True to form, Sonny exploded. "Don't be ridiculous! I know Jason's your best friend and all that, but Courtney is my sister! She says Jason's the father, then he's the father! Just because you don't like her doesn't mean you can go around making up stuff about her! And did it ever occur to you that it's disrespectful to me to basically accuse her of being a lying tramp? She doesn't even know AJ, so –"

"Sonny, stop," Brenda yelled, angry herself now. "If you'd just look in the damn file, you'd see that she knows AJ very well, and you'd also see that there's no way Jason could be the father of her spawn." She slammed the file on the desk and turned to leave.

"Don't you walk out!" Sonny shouted.

She turned at the door to glare at him. "I'll be at home when you decide you're ready to apologize," was her response. "And you better come prepared to grovel after the way you just yelled at me." She slammed the door behind her.

**Seattle**

Maxie and Elizabeth were both exhausted by the time they got back to Maxie's place late that afternoon. Maxie had driven them both in her car, while Jason, Johnny, and Spinelli followed in their rented SUV.

Elizabeth had tried to argue that it wasn't necessary, that the men had spent too much time – and money, for that matter -- on her already today. Except for a single suitcase with all her essentials and the clothes she would need for the next week or so, everything had wound up loaded on a truck that was even now headed for Port Charles, where Emily was arranging for it to be placed in temporary storage. Elizabeth still wasn't sure how she had lost that argument, but there it was.

Now, arriving at the apartment, the women parked in the underground garage and walked out to the street to wait for the men to find street parking. That was another argument Elizabeth had lost – Jason had insisted that they weren't to go inside until he was there to make sure that Lucky wasn't around. She had tried to tell him he was being ridiculous, but he had insisted, and she had been too tired to argue like she usually would have. So she listened with half an ear to Maxie's chatter – it seemed the woman had developed a bit of a crush on Johnny while she and Jason had been out getting pizza -- and waited for Jason to show up.

Several minutes passed before the men came into view from around the corner. They were discussing something animatedly as they approached, and when they finally reached the women, Elizabeth turned to go in. But Jason said, "Let Johnny check it out first." He turned to Maxie and said, "Give Johnny the keys."

"What?" Maxie asked, clearly irritated at Jason's terse request. "I'm not letting him just go into my apartment without me. Who knows what he might snoop into? No, if he's gonna be in there, I'm gonna be there too."

"Maxie," Johnny said patiently, "I'm not gonna rifle through your stuff. I just need to make sure no one's in there waiting for you."

"You think Lucky would break into my apartment?" she asked, incredulous. "I told you, he wouldn't want to piss off my father like that. And besides --"

Johnny interrupted before she could get going. "The keys, Maxie, or we'll all be standing here all night." He held out his hand expectantly. When she still made no move to give him the keys, he added cheerfully, "Or we could just check you both into our hotel instead …"

"No way," Elizabeth interjected firmly. "I won't have Maxie driven from her home just because you and Jason are paranoid." She looked at Maxie. "Look, I really am tired and I'd really rather not stand here arguing all night if that's okay with you."

"Fine, here," Maxie grumbled, slapping her keys into Johnny's outstretched palm, "but I better find my closets and drawers exactly the way I left them."

"I promise," Johnny said with a smile and a wiggle of his eyebrows. He disappeared into the building before Maxie could protest further.

Several minutes later, Jason's phone rang. He answered it, saying only, "Yeah …okay." He hung up and said, "All clear, let's go." Elizabeth sighed with relief.

Her relief, she soon realized, was premature. Not content with the building's security, which both Elizabeth and Maxie thought was fine, Jason and Johnny were both insistent that Johnny was going to spend the night guarding the door. Elizabeth was just as insistent that he wasn't

The argument continued between Jason and Elizabeth on and off for the next two hours. Meanwhile, Maxie said to Spinelli, "Johnny says you're some kind of genius with a computer. I was gonna get my friend Gene to do some stuff for me, but since you're here, maybe you want to take a crack at it instead?"

"The Jackal is at the service of the fair one. How may I be of assistance?"

"I promised Elizabeth that we would get some revenge on her putz of a husband for cheating on her. Here's what I had in mind …" Her voice trailed off as she led Spinelli to her computer in the spare bedroom.

Johnny sat on the couch and looked back and forth between Jason and Elizabeth as they continued to argue about whether Johnny should stay or go. Sighing, he stood and made a timeout sign. When they turned to look at him, he smiled charmingly and said, "Listen, it's almost dinnertime. Why don't I go get some takeout while you two work this out between you?"

Jason started to agree, but Elizabeth frowned. "Why does he get to decide what you're gonna do? You can't possibly want to spend the night standing out in the hallway."

"It's no big deal. Besides, he's the boss, so if he wants me to stay, I stay."

"But he can't just make you do whatever he wants. Even if he's the boss, you're not his slave."

Jason rolled his eyes and let out an exasperated breath. Johnny laughed and said, "He pays me really well to do stuff like this. It's fine." When Elizabeth looked ready to argue some more, he held up a hand. "I told you, it's Jason's decision, so don't waste your time arguing with me about it. Now, is there something in particular you'd like to eat?"

Thrown by the change of topic, she said, "Um, I don't even know what's around here, but I like pretty much anything."

"Okay, I'll ask Maxie," he said, and without giving her a chance to respond, he disappeared into the other room.

Elizabeth turned back to Jason and said, "It seems awfully unfair of you to expect poor Johnny to do whatever you say."

Jason smiled. "You heard Johnny – he gets paid really well to do what I say."

"But there's no need for it. The security here is fine, and anyway, Lucky won't try anything tonight."

"How do you know that?"

"He's probably drowning his sorrows in some dive by now."

"Which just makes him even more likely to do something stupid."

"Look, Jason, I appreciate your concern, I really do, but this is ridiculous. You're being paranoid." She barely noticed Johnny as he left the apartment, presumably to pick up dinner from somewhere.

Jason insisted, "You're family. I'm not taking any chances with your safety. I would actually prefer to have you and Maxie both come stay at our hotel. Then Lucky wouldn't know where to look for you at all, and even if he came here, there would be no problem."

"It's not fair to ask Maxie to leave her apartment just because you're paranoid."

"Well, the only options you have are either Johnny stays with you here, or we all go to the hotel. Which one do you prefer?"

"I prefer to stay here and have Johnny go back to the hotel with you."

Jason smiled charmingly. "Not happening."

The discussion continued in circles until Johnny came back with dinner. He opened the door and called, "Food's here. I hope everyone likes Chinese." Elizabeth and Jason turned to stare at him. Elizabeth looked frustrated, while Jason looked amused. Johnny shook his head and, just as Spinelli and Maxie walked into the room laughing, he asked Elizabeth, "Do you think you two can call a truce while we eat? Arguing is bad for digestion."

"Don't ask me," she frowned. "He's the one who's being unreasonable."

Johnny laughed as Jason rolled his eyes and insisted, "Let's eat now, and you can argue with me some more afterward. Johnny's right, we should call a truce while we eat."

Elizabeth said, "We wouldn't have to call a truce if you would be reasonable." At Jason's raised eyebrow, she said, "Fine, we'll eat and then I'll tell you again how ridiculous you're being."

Over dinner, Jason focused on a longwinded description Spinelli was giving him about what he and Maxie had been doing for the past hour. She barely heard the man talk, as she herself was focusing on glaring daggers at Jason. Her racing thoughts were interrupted when Jason said patiently, "Spinelli, are you sure there won't be any way to trace all of this? Elizabeth wants to get away from the man, not wave red flags in his face."

"Wait, what are you talking about?" Elizabeth interrupted.

Maxie smiled and said, "I told you I was gonna get revenge on your behalf. We've taken care of the credit cards already, and after dinner, we're gonna work on wage garnishment."

"What?" Elizabeth sounded shocked. "I didn't think you were serious about all of that. Are you crazy?"

Maxie appeared unconcerned. "Well, of course I was serious. Revenge is serious business."

"But I don't want him looking for me," Elizabeth wailed. "I want to get away and have him forget I ever existed. If he ever found out about –" she broke off and pulled herself together. "Just stop now. Please. Don't do anything else to Lucky."

"But, Elizabeth –" Maxie started to protest, but Jason interrupted.

"No more. Whatever you've already done is enough. Elizabeth doesn't want him chasing after her, so let's not give him any more incentive than he already has." He turned to Elizabeth. "Do you still think there's no chance Lucky will come looking for you tonight?"

She closed her eyes briefly and said in a resigned tone, "I guess if he finds out about this, he might."

Johnny stayed.

XXXXXXXXX

On the way back to the hotel, Spinelli interrupted Jason's thoughts. "With all due respect to the master, might the Jackal suggest that this evening would be a most auspicious time to conduct the mission of stealth at the offices of the reproductive medical experts?"

"Not tonight," Jason replied.

"What? The Jackal fails to see why the entire purpose of this trip -- to seek out and destroy all remaining samples of the alter-ego's genetic material – must be postponed further?"

"I have something to show you first. Remember when I called you back this morning I said I wanted you to look at some information? If it's what I think it is, we won't need to do anything more in Seattle and we can leave whenever Sonny's plane gets here."

Spinelli asked, "But what could the master possibly have to show his grasshopper that would eliminate the ultimate necessity of the entire reason for being in the Emerald City?"

"When we get back, Spinelli."

"But –"

"Later, Spinelli." Mercifully, Spinelli lapsed into silence. Jason smiled mentally as he thought about the file he had been looking at when Emily called this morning before Spinelli had arrived. Because of the urgency of making sure Elizabeth was safe from her asshole husband, he hadn't yet shown Spinelli what he suspected was Jason Quartermaine's profile. Now, however, it seemed pointless to talk about it until after he showed Spinelli the file.

When they finally arrived back at the hotel, Jason went to the desk and handed Spinelli the folder without comment. Spinelli opened it and after a very brief moment, he gasped, "Why would Stone Cold be giving the Jackal a copy of the alter-ego's profile? I've already reviewed it thoroughly, as you know, but if there is some further use the Jackal should make --"

"So you're a hundred percent sure that's Quartermaine's profile?"

"Well, of course the Jackal is sure."

"Then we don't need to break into the doctor's office – Johnny brought that back from Elizabeth's apartment."

"Why would the sister of the spouse of fair Emily have the alter ego's donor profile?" Spinelli paused, and Jason just waited until the light dawned. Spinelli's voice was shocked as he asked, "Is Stone Cold suggesting that the damsel in distress is the recipient of the alter-ego's genetic material?"

"Apparently." Jason continued to be surprised by how much the idea pleased him.

"Isn't that an awfully big coincidence? Stone Cold doesn't believe in coincidence."

"Yes, it is a big coincidence, but there's really no other logical explanation for why she would have that in a file labeled 'Donor Information', so I guess I'll just have to believe it this time."

"Is the master certain that he doesn't want to check the clinic records, just to be sure?" Spinelli sounded almost disappointed.

"No, there's no need to put you at risk when it's pretty clear that we already have the answer."

"The Jackal gladly takes whatever risk the master needs …" Spinelli trailed off at Jason's look, then added, "What if some of the genetic material is still there? Doesn't the master wish to destroy it?"

"Think, Spinelli – there's no need. She's leaving her husband, she's coming back to Port Charles with us, and she's already pregnant. I'd bet anything that she asks the clinic to destroy the sample all on her own." Spinelli looked ready to protest, but Jason added, "If she doesn't, we can always come back later. I want to get her out of here as quickly as possible. Her husband is gonna keep bothering her until she's really gone," he paused to glare at Spinelli, "Especially since you and Maxie pulled that little stunt earlier. I don't want her dealing with that kind of stress."

"If the Jackal may say, Stone Cold is awfully protective of the Maternal One."

Jason glared at him, but said only, "She's family." As far as Jason was concerned, Spinelli didn't need to know that he had been protective of Elizabeth long before he learned she was related to him by marriage.

**Port Charles**

Sonny glared at the file on his desk. He had finally calmed down enough to read it, and he had also listened to the audio file on the voice recorder that was with it. He had gotten angry all over again, because he now realized three important things. First, his sister really was a slut and a liar. Second, he owed Jason a very big apology. And third, Brenda wasn't kidding when she said he better be prepared to grovel. He decided to start with that first, and he picked up the phone to call the florist and the jeweler.

He debated whether to call Jason next, but decided he should be a man about it and apologize face-to-face whenever Jason finally got back to town. So instead, he called Courtney. When she answered, he said brusquely, "I need to see you. I'm on my way." She sputtered something about it being late, but he said, "It's important and it can't wait. I'll see you shortly."

He walked to the door and spoke to Francis. "We need to head over to see my sister. Have a couple of the guys pick up AJ Quartermaine and encourage him to meet us there." He paused, giving Francis a speaking look. "They should encourage him _strongly_, Francis."

Francis nodded and pulled out his cellphone. As the two men walked out, Sonny placed two other calls to make the arrangements he had decided were necessary.


	21. Chapter 20

**Chapter 20**

**Port Charles**

Courtney watched Sonny pace back and forth in front of her perch on the couch. She tried to decipher his mood, but his face was devoid of all expression, and when she tried to ask him what was so important that he had to talk to her tonight, he said, "Not yet, Courtney."

"But, Sonny, what are we waiting for?"

Sonny said nothing, but after a moment, Francis took pity on her. "Not everyone is here yet, Miss Matthews."

Sonny glared at Francis, who appeared unfazed. Courtney wondered why he was mad at Francis for answering her question. "What? Who else is coming?" Courtney suddenly realized she was wearing only a nightgown and robe. "If we're expecting other people, I better change."

She started to rise, but sank quickly back into her seat when Sonny barked, "Stay where you are!" For the first time, Courtney realized that Sonny was beyond furious.

She started to ask him what was wrong, but a knock at the door pulled everyone's attention away before she could speak. Sonny nodded at Francis, who opened the door and spoke briefly to someone Courtney couldn't see. He came back and handed some papers to Sonny, who glanced at them briefly before nodding and handing them back to Francis.

Courtney asked, "Sonny, what's going on? You're scaring me."

He smiled, but it was a cold smile that sent a shiver down her spine rather than reassuring her. "Everyone should be here soon. I'm only gonna explain things once, so for now, you'll just have to wait."

An eternity seemed to pass, although realistically she supposed it couldn't have been very long, before another knock came at the door. Sonny nodded at Francis, who again went to the door. This time, two of Sonny's men pushed AJ Quartermaine in ahead of them. AJ stumbled and howled, "OW!" when his shin banged the coffee table. He righted himself, and when he caught sight of Sonny, he began sputtering with indignation, "Corinthos! I should have known! What the hell's the big idea, grabbing me and dragging me over here against my will? People will miss me! You can't get away with this!"

"Silence!" Sonny roared, which startled everyone so much that they obeyed. He visibly strove to calm himself down.

Courtney asked tentatively, "Sonny? What's going on?"

He turned to her and smiled icily, "Is that any way to greet your fiancé?"

AJ started and his eyes swung to Courtney. She gasped and paled, "Wh-what are you talking about? I hardly know him --"

Sonny interrupted, "Now that's not entirely true, is it, Courtney?" He reached into his pocket, pulled out a small voice recorder, and pressed a button. It took a moment, but Courtney paled when she recognized the sound of her own pants and moans, mingled with AJ's.

"Sonny, I can explain," Courtney started to whine, but Sonny silenced her with a look.

He said, "Father Coates will be here any minute to perform the ceremony. If you don't want to get married in your nightgown, you should go change."

AJ looked like he wanted to protest, but Francis caught his eye and raised a brow. AJ stayed silent, but Courtney wasn't as smart. "But, Sonny," she said, "I love Jason. You promised you would make Jason marry me, because of the baby."

Sonny's voice dripped with disgust. "You think I'm gonna make my best friend – _my brother_ -- marry a lying tramp like you?" Sonny's voice began to rise, his ire growing more apparent with each word. "You betrayed Jason, and you lied to me, and when Jason said it was impossible, I still believed _you_! And when _my wife_ tried to tell me she had proof you were lying, I yelled at her because I couldn't believe my own sister – _my family_ – would lie to me about something so important! And you expect me to keep _defending_ you now that I know you're a lying slut, when you let me almost ruin the most important relationships in my life by insisting you were too honorable to lie about something like this?" Courtney opened her mouth to speak, but Sonny gave her no chance. "Honorable? What a joke! You don't know the meaning of the word. No, you'll marry the father of your baby – no matter how much of a spoiled little scumbag he is." He turned to pin AJ with furious eyes. "And you! You hate Jason so much that you do stupid things to get back at him for a bunch of old crap that has nothing to do with him. And your family bails you out every damn time. Well, not this time. You will take responsibility for the crap you pull for once in your life." His gaze swung back to encompass both of them. "You have about ten minutes before Father Coates gets here, at which time you _will _be married, and neither of you will upset the father by letting him think you aren't entirely willing to do this. You both made your bed, and now you'll lie in it."

AJ finally found his voice. "What do you mean, father of her baby?" he sputtered. "She's not pregnant."

Sonny raised a brow, then turned to Francis. "Give him the folder." Francis walked over to the table by the door and, without a word, handed AJ the folder Brenda had given Sonny earlier that day. AJ looked through it, his face growing more and more furious as he realized that Courtney had planned to pass his child off as Jason's. Courtney watched him apprehensively.

Finally, he looked up at Courtney, his expression speaking his hatred even louder than his words. "You bitch!" he yelled. He lunged across the coffee table at her, his hands locking around her throat. "You were gonna let Jason raise my kid! You were gonna keep him from me!" He struggled as Sonny's men pulled him off her, prying his hands off her. "I'll kill you! You bitch, I'll kill you!" AJ continued to yell and struggle as Courtney ran sobbing from the room. She slammed the bedroom door behind her and struggled to control herself, but she could still hear a lot of the discussion in the other room. _How did it all go so wrong, so fast?_

Finally, she heard the men slam AJ up against the wall. Francis said, "Get control of yourself, Quartermaine." At that point, Courtney moved mechanically away from the door and began looking for something to wear. She couldn't believe Sonny was gonna make her marry AJ. She tried desperately to think of a way out of it, but deep down, she knew that Sonny in this mood was impossible to sway. One way or another, he would have her married to AJ before the night was out. And the worst of it was, Jason probably knew everything she had done and everything she had planned to do, and he would never forgive her. She had really, truly lost him.

She sank down onto the edge of the bed and cried.

In the other room, AJ was still struggling with the guards, so Francis spoke again, "The priest will be here any minute, and you don't want to disrespect him. I mean it, Quartermaine, calm yourself down now."

AJ appeared to struggle to bring himself under control. He took several deep breaths, exhaling slowly each time, until finally, he said, "Okay. I'm okay. You can let go now." The men looked at Francis, who met AJ's eyes for a long moment before nodding.

AJ stepped away from the two men, straightening his clothes. He looked at Sonny, his voice sober and icy. "I'll take care of my kid, but I don't see why I have to marry her."

Ironically, AJ's explosion had tempered Sonny's fury, partly because it became clear that AJ had had no idea what Courtney had planned to do to Jason, so his voice was significantly calmer when he replied, "You'll marry her, now, tonight, because I say you will, and you'll stay married at least until the baby is born."

"And after that?" AJ asked. "I gotta tell ya, Sonny, I liked her fine until now, but I don't know that I can even look at her right now without wanting to kill her. I know you don't want to hear that --"

Sonny held up a hand. "In other circumstances, I wouldn't let you badmouth her," he said, "But I can see where you'd be pissed right now, and I can understand why you'd have trouble controlling your temper. But she's still my sister, so I can't let you disrespect her by refusing to marry her when you got her pregnant. If nothing else, it's not fair to the kid." He sighed. "So here's what we'll do. You'll marry her tonight, and I'll send her out of town to have the baby. If you manage to calm down enough to treat her with respect, you can join her. If not, we'll work something out after the baby's born."

AJ said, "I won't be kept from my kid, Sonny."

"I'm not saying you'll be kept from your kid. I'm saying that it's not good for your kid if Courtney feels threatened while she's pregnant, so you need to let me know when you can be around her without letting your temper get the best of you. But hear me on this, AJ, you better be sure you can stay calm around her when you tell me you can, 'cause if you hurt her, I'm gonna have to respond to that."

"I hear you, Sonny, and since I don't want to hurt my kid, I'll agree to this for now. But I want us to be clear that I won't let you or anyone else keep me away from my kid for long."

A knock on the door interrupted whatever Sonny would have said to that. The guard moved to admit Father Coates, who said jovially, "I hear we're having a wedding! Now, where's the happy couple?"

XXXXXXXXXX

Jerry hung up the phone thoughtfully. Once his investigators had been armed with the information from Sam's prenatal vitamins, they had quickly discovered a wealth of information about exactly when and, more importantly, _how_ she had gotten herself pregnant. Now, the only question was how to deal with the information. On the one hand, he didn't want to bother Jax and Skye with this issue, and he certainly wouldn't permit the scheming slut to ruin Jax's wedding. On the other hand, perhaps they ought to be warned about what Ms. McCall had planned. And he certainly would shed no tears if the woman was completely humiliated and disgraced …

_What to do, what to do …_

Sighing, he decided to do nothing just yet. His investigators were still trying to determine why the Corinthos-Morgan organization was interested in Ms. McCall, and until he knew what that was about, he wanted to keep his options open. If they didn't determine what was going on before the rehearsal dinner, he would take action at that time to ensure that his brother's wedding remained untainted by the little tramp Jax had gotten himself mixed up with.

**Seattle**

Elizabeth woke abruptly in the middle of the night, her heart pounding hard and fast in her chest. She had no idea what time it was, and at first, she had no idea why she had woken. She sat up in bed and looked around until her eyes landed on the clock.

1:38 am. _What could have woken me up? _she wondered, and then she heard the shouting, and she knew. She couldn't make out the words, but Lucky's voice – and his drunk, angry mood – were unmistakable. _He probably stayed at some bar through last call, and then came here. _He was shouting, presumably at Johnny, or maybe he was trying to wake Maxie up from out in the hallway where Johnny was holding him at bay. As far as she knew, Lucky didn't know she herself was staying with Maxie, although she supposed he might have guessed based on the fact that she and Maxie had left together the other night and that Maxie had been helping her pack earlier that day.

But frankly, she doubted he was that smart. So either he wanted to see Maxie for a booty call, or he wanted to find Elizabeth and figured Maxie was his best shot. Either way, she was suddenly glad that Jason had been so insistent about Johnny standing guard. She placed a hand protectively over her stomach and whispered, mostly to reassure herself, "Don't worry, baby, Johnny won't let him near us."

But then she started worrying that maybe Lucky would trump up some ridiculous charge and arrest Johnny, which would never stick, but which would be a big pain in the ass to deal with. She got up and found her purse, and dug around in it in the dim light coming through the window until she found her cell phone. She nibbled indecisively on her lower lip.

Just as she was about to put the phone away, there was a knock on her door. Although it was so soft that it wouldn't have woken her had she actually been sleeping, she still jumped. "Yes?" she called quietly.

Maxie opened the door and slipped in. "I wondered if the shouting woke you up and I wanted to make sure you're okay," she whispered.

Elizabeth smiled and reached out to grab Maxie's hand. "I am, but I'm glad you're here anyway."

Maxie squeezed her hand briefly. She said, "I don't know about you, but I'm really glad Johnny's dealing with him for us." She smiled at Elizabeth. "I bet Lucky's usual bullying tactics will get him nowhere with Johnny." Her voice betrayed her satisfaction with that situation.

Elizabeth said, "I just hope Lucky doesn't try to arrest him or anything."

"Well, if he does, I'll call my dad and tell him that Johnny was visiting us and minding his own business and Lucky was just being a jerk because you wouldn't talk to him." Elizabeth looked startled, so Maxie smiled again and said, "Don't worry, it's close enough to the truth that Lucky won't be able to argue with it without getting himself in a whole lot of trouble. My dad is very protective of me, so it's not like Lucky can tell him we had an affair or any of that."

"Oh." Elizabeth was, as usual, bemused by the way Maxie's mind worked. Just as she was wrapping her mind around the idea that with Maxie's protection, she and her new friends were safe from harassment by Lucky, Maxie changed the subject.

"I was thinking, and you can totally tell me if you think this is a bad idea, but I was just thinking that since you're my new best friend and everything, and since Johnny mentioned that Lucky's probably gonna start harassing me as soon as he realizes you're gone, and he's probably right about that, and since my sister is in school in New York City anyway …" Maxie hesitated briefly before forging ahead. "I was thinking maybe it wouldn't be a bad idea for me to go with you guys when you head back to New York. Just to visit for awhile, you know? Till Lucky calms down and gets the message that you really left him and you really aren't coming back, you know? And I would maybe just spend a few days helping you get settled and then I could go stay with my sister in the city, so I wouldn't be in your hair, although I could visit and come help you out any time you need me to." She paused for breath and asked tentatively, "What do you think? If you'd rather I didn't, I totally understand, since you probably haven't really gotten over the whole affair thing yet …"

Elizabeth smiled, and when Maxie paused for breath, she said, "Does this have anything to do with you wanting to spend a little more time with Johnny?"

Maxie grinned sheepishly, "Well, that wouldn't _hurt_, you know? But the rest of it is true, too. Really," she insisted when Elizabeth raised an eyebrow.

Elizabeth laughed outright at that, and abruptly decided that it would be good to have Maxie around for sheer entertainment value. After all, the woman could make her laugh when moments earlier, she had been bordering on panic. "Maxie, if you want to come east with us, you should." Maxie squealed with excitement and hugged her, so she added, "As long as it's okay with Jason and his friends."

"Oh, don't worry about that. They have a whole plane at their disposal, so I'm sure they won't mind. Johnny will probably be relieved. He was worried that I wouldn't be able to handle Lucky, until I explained to him about my dad. Come to think of it, he didn't seem to happy to hear my dad is police commissioner. I wonder what that's about." She looked thoughtful for a moment, then shrugged and said cheerfully, "Oh well, I'm sure they'll be happy to have me along. That way they won't have to worry about me breaking down and telling Lucky where you went."

The shouting, which they had both been studiously ignoring while they talked, suddenly got louder, and then there was a loud thump, and finally, silence. The women looked at each other for a long moment, wondering what to do. Finally, Maxie gave voice to both of their thoughts, "Do you think we should go see what's happening?"

Elizabeth answered cautiously, "As much as I'm tempted, I doubt Johnny would be happy if we did that." She paused, then added, "When you came in, I was just debating whether I should call Jason. What do you think?"

"I don't know." She thought about that for a minute. Finally she said, "Jason would probably be pissed if no one told him. He's really protective of you, in case you hadn't noticed."

Elizabeth blushed and said, "Yeah, I noticed. It's kinda hard to miss. He keeps saying I'm family, but he was actually kind of protective before he even knew that …" Her voice trailed off and she thought about that. "Maybe it's because –" she abruptly stopped. She wasn't sure she wanted Maxie to know about her pregnancy yet.

"Because?" Maxie prompted.

Elizabeth sighed and said, "Because I remind him of his sister, and he kinda got the idea that Lucky was abusive …"

Maxie interrupted, "Lucky _is_ abusive, Elizabeth." At Elizabeth's surprised look, she said, "Okay, I'll assume he's never actually hit you or anything, but look at how he treats you – like you have no mind of your own, like you should be totally dependent on him for everything, with no friends or family or money or independence. Look at how you have to hide in order to get a little time away from him. Look at how he described you to me, for God's sake. I'm just gonna take a wild guess here that he describes you that way to other people, too. And I don't even want to think about how he talks to you – just think about what he said to you the other night! He said you're nothing without him. If that's not abusive, then I don't know what is, Elizabeth. You're doing the right thing getting away from him, and the sooner you realize he's an abusive jerk, the better off you'll be."

Elizabeth was stunned by Maxie's comments. She hadn't really thought about it that way before, but she realized there was some truth to what Maxie said. He _did_ insult her constantly; he was always finding fault with whatever she did. And he really _had_ managed to keep her under his thumb and isolated for a long time. It was all about him having all the power and all the control in their lives. She said slowly, "I never really thought about it that way. It didn't start out like that, you know." She paused and looked at Maxie. "In the beginning, he was sweet and caring and fun, you know? But I guess everything changed eventually. It took a long time, though, so I didn't really notice it until …" she trailed off again.

"Until?" Maxie prompted after a moment.

"Until he wanted me to get pregnant," Elizabeth hedged. "And all I could think was that if we had a baby, I'd never get away." She shook her head abruptly and changed the topic. "It's been quiet out there for a while. Should we call Jason or should we check on Johnny?"

Maxie said, "How about you stay here and I'll check on Johnny? That way Lucky won't see you, and if I'm not back in two minutes, you can call Jason – or maybe it would be better to call my dad."

"At two in the morning?" Elizabeth asked skeptically. "Won't he freak?"

"Yeah, I guess he might. So if I'm not back in two minutes, call Jason. But lock the door behind me, in case Lucky's still standing and Johnny's not. Although I doubt a drunk Lucky could take on a sober Johnny and come out on top. Did you notice Johnny's muscles?"

Elizabeth laughed and shook her head. "Okay, get out of here, and don't stop to flirt with Johnny, 'cause in two minutes, I'm calling Jason, and I'd hate to drag him over here for nothing."

Maxie flashed her a thumbs up sign and disappeared. Elizabeth locked the door behind her and settled in for the longest two minutes of her life – or at least since she had waited on a home pregnancy test almost three months ago.


	22. Chapter 21

_A/N: Okay, here is the long-overdue next chapter. Also, for anyone who is wondering, Johnny is in his late 20s and Maxie in her early 20s in this story._

_Enjoy!_

**Chapter 21**

**Port Charles, 5 am**

In the pre-dawn hours of the next morning, Sonny sighed as he let himself into the darkened penthouse and saw the blankets and pillow on the couch. He couldn't help smiling a little, though – his Brenda was nothing if not passionate, and right now, she was apparently still passionately mad at him. The bedding was a message, pure and simple: _Don't bother coming to our bedroom – it's off limits to you until you demonstrate just how sorry you are._ She didn't actually expect him to sleep on the couch, though – they had two guest bedrooms, after all, and she had to know he would sleep in one of those rather than on the couch.

Glancing around the room as he crossed to the bar to make himself a drink, he noted with satisfaction that the three dozen roses and the arrangement of purple hyacinths and lilacs he had ordered had been delivered. He had asked the florist what flowers would symbolize a sincere apology, as well as the utmost love and respect. The florist had said, "Red roses for love and respect, purple hyacinths for the apology, and, depending how much trouble you're in, you might want to add some lilacs, which indicate humility." He had told her to do it, and despite finding the clear message on the couch, he took the fact that Brenda had carefully arranged the flowers in vases rather than dumping them unceremoniously in the trash as a good sign – she was mad, but she was leaving room for him to get back in her good graces.

He took a sip of his drink and patted his pocket, where the next item in his campaign to get back on his wife's good side rested. The diamond and ruby heart pendant and matching earrings were burning a hole in his pocket, and he briefly considered sneaking into their room and leaving it on her bedside table, but he resisted the urge. The look on her face when she opened it would tell him a lot about how much more he would have to do to gain her forgiveness.

He was hopeful that his description of Courtney's wedding would appease Brenda a little bit more. He smiled a little to himself as he thought about it again, planning how he would describe it to Brenda, to maximize her enjoyment of Courtney's fall from grace.

_**A Few Hours Earlier …**_

_As they got everyone in place for the wedding, Father Coates gallantly pretended not to notice that Courtney was wearing a frumpy black dress, that her hair hadn't been combed, and that she wore no makeup. He glanced at Sonny, but said nothing about Courtney's apparent displeasure. Instead, he asked, "Do we have a license?"_

_Sonny said, "Francis?" and the bodyguard produced the papers that had been delivered to the apartment a short time earlier. There were times, Sonny mused, that having people in City Hall on your payroll came in handy. _

_The ceremony was short – just the barebones necessary to get the deed done. Sonny was unmoved by Courtney's continued tears and covert pleading looks, and the guards, who served as witnesses, remained stoic as well, when she tried turning her gaze on them. _Really_, Sonny thought with disgust,_ does she think they're gonna go against me after what she tried to do to Jason? How can this moron be related to me?

_He pinched her arm to make her say "I do" when she stood stubbornly silent for a few seconds too long. He doubted Courtney had noticed Francis covertly taking pictures with his cellphone camera. Although Sonny knew the pictures would later be laughed over by the guards who hated his sister, as well as, perhaps, Brenda and Spinelli and Johnny, he made no move to interfere. As he had said to her earlier, she had made her bed._

_He had to admit, AJ handled the whole thing much better than Courtney. The man hadn't looked at his bride even once through the entire ceremony, and Sonny had seen the muscle ticking in AJ's jaw whenever he had to take her hand, and his voice had been tightly controlled when he said his vows, but he had managed not to say or do anything inappropriate. He had even given Courtney a peck on the cheek when the priest had gotten to the "kiss the bride" part of the ceremony. Then he had signed the necessary papers and looked at Sonny. "You'll take care of the rest?"_

"_Yeah." He kept an eye on Courtney to make sure she signed the papers herself. Her hand shook, but she did it, and then she had glared at every person in the room in turn. When they all avoided her eyes, she ran sobbing from the room, slamming the door behind her._

_AJ glanced after her, but said only, "Okay, I'm out of here. If it's okay, I'd like to keep this quiet for a few days. I gotta figure out how to break it to the family." Sonny considered this as he took the signed papers and handed them to Father Coates, who nodded to everyone in the room and took his leave. He would make sure copies got to the right authorities to make the marriage legal. _

_Given the way Courtney had treated AJ, Sonny couldn't blame the man for needing time to put a decent spin on things for his family. Also, it would probably help in terms of the Quartermaines' acceptance of both Courtney and the baby, and Sonny had a feeling she would need that boost. He couldn't imagine that any family would easily forgive a woman who had tried to dupe not one but two of their sons about something so important, so it was better that it didn't get back to them._

_So Sonny said, "Fine. Let me know what story you tell them if you need me to back it up. And get in touch when you're ready to join Courtney. If I don't hear from you by the time the baby's born, I'll be in touch then."_

"_Fine." AJ paused, apparently considering whether to say more. Finally, he said, "Look, whatever your motives were, I appreciate that you told me about my kid, and despite what you might think of me, I plan to be a good father. Whatever our differences, I appreciate that you're giving me the opportunity to do that." He paused once more, then added, "And tell Jason if he can let this go, he won't have any more trouble from me. Having a kid on the way makes for different priorities, you know?"_

_Sonny said, "Yeah, I know. I'll tell him." To his own surprise, he found himself feeling a small bit of actual respect for AJ. He didn't fully trust the man, and certainly maintained a healthy skepticism about how long AJ's new priorities would last, but he kept those to himself. Considering that he was now related to the man by marriage and would soon be related by blood, he figured he should give the man an opportunity to prove himself a decent father. He could always make the man disappear later if he turned out to be a problem. "Be in touch," he said again._

"_I will," AJ replied, and headed for the door. _

_Sonny walked to the door of Courtney's bedroom, tapped perfunctorily and let himself in. She was sprawled across her bed, sobbing into her pillow. He might have felt some sympathy if he wasn't still so pissed at her, and if she hadn't been behaving like a spoiled child all night. Now, he felt nothing but irritation. He said, "Get yourself together. You're leaving for the island in half an hour." She didn't move. He added, "You can walk out of here under your own power, or you can be carried out kicking and screaming, but either way, you're leaving in half an hour. It's up to you whether you retain any dignity or you don't." Without waiting for a response, he turned and left. It was time to face the music at home._

Now, as Sonny sipped his drink and planned how he would describe the wedding to his wife, he secretly took pleasure in the fact that for once, his sister was getting what she deserved instead of being protected from it, as either he or their father usually did. Courtney had always been a little bit spoiled, but she was a grown woman, and this time, she had betrayed the wrong person – one of the few people Sonny would protect above her. Yes, it was time she reaped what she sowed.

He had briefly considered washing his hands of her completely, but she was still family, and his sense of honor wouldn't let him leave her completely to her own devices, especially since she was pregnant. She had betrayed Jason, not him, and it had been personal, not business, so it was up to Jason what he did about it, to her and to AJ. For now, Sonny had done his duty by her – he had gotten her married and sent her someplace safe until everyone had a chance to cool off.

Sonny sighed again, thinking of the apology he owed Jason. Jewelry and flowers wouldn't help there, but he would figure out another way to make this up to his brother. He glanced at the clock – it was nearly 7 am. Another sleepless night.

He downed the remainder of his drink, and started to head off to the guest room to catch a nap, but just as he did, the phone rang. He glanced at the caller ID, then answered quickly, "Jason? Is everything okay?"

**Seattle, 2 am**

When Maxie cautiously opened the hallway door, she didn't immediately see Johnny. She did, however, see Lucky sprawled on the floor, out cold. She had a passing thought that she should see if he was okay, but then she heard the murmur of Johnny's voice down the hall and decided not to bother. Instead, she approached Johnny, who nodded but didn't otherwise acknowledge her presence while he finished his conversation.

"Yeah, well, I tried reasoning with him, but he wasn't in any mood to listen." Johnny's voice was annoyed. "Lemme tell ya, Jason, I could've gotten drunk if I had inhaled deeply… Well, I had to do something – he was getting loud and someone would've called the cops if I hadn't shut him up … so the only question left is, what do you want me to do with him now?" Johnny paused to listen, and Maxie could swear she saw him roll his eyes. "Well, Maxie just came out. Lemme ask her." He turned to her and asked, "Is Elizabeth all right?"

"Yeah, she's fine. She was just thinking of calling Jason herself and actually I should go tell her that you already called him so she'll stop worrying. But I have an idea if you don't know what to do with him …" She gestured toward Lucky. "I could call his partner to come and get him, and I'll just say that Lucky can't accept that I broke off our affair right after his wife left him, and so he came here drunk. He won't contradict me because he doesn't want it to get back to my dad that he showed up here drunk at 1:30 in the morning."

Johnny interrupted to ask Jason, "Did you hear what Maxie said or do you need me to repeat it?" He paused and listened again. "Yeah, okay, we'll do that. Should I tell her you're on your way? Okay, yeah." He hung up and turned to Maxie. "Go ahead and call his partner. And when you go back in, let Elizabeth know that Jason's on his way."

"Okay." Maxie paused and then asked, "What actually happened? Because just in case you need someone to back up that it was self-defense, I could say that I saw the whole thing."

Johnny smiled at her. "I appreciate the offer, but hopefully it won't come to that. I doubt he'll argue the point, anyway. Now go tell Elizabeth that everything is fine."

"Okay, but you should probably know I was just talking to Elizabeth and we decided I should come along when you guys go east because she's gonna need her best friend while she settles in and anyway, you don't really want Lucky coming around and bugging me about where she is, do you?"

"Maxie, please go tell Elizabeth everything's okay out here," Johnny said patiently. "We can talk about travel plans and who's going where tomorrow."

"Okay, but I just wanted to give you fair warning." She gave him a flirtatious smile as she turned to leave. "Just think how much time we'll have to get to know each other better."

Johnny sighed as he watched her go back inside. She was a pretty girl, that was for sure, and he had to admit that the way her mind worked was ingeniously devious. He was honest enough to admit silently that he was wildly attracted to her. In fact, if she weren't the daughter of a police commissioner, he would be completely bewitched.

Then Johnny shook himself. _Get real, O'Brien! Who do you think you're kidding? When have you ever been able to resist trouble when it came in a package like that?_

It was gonna be a long trip back to Port Charles.

XXXXXXXXX

Jason arrived at Maxie's apartment only fifteen minutes after ending the phone call with Johnny. Fortunately, traffic in this part of town was minimal at two-thirty in the morning, because he had driven a lot faster than he probably should have. He wondered briefly at his need to see Elizabeth, and prove to himself that she was okay. He wasn't used to having emotions override logic – he had heard Maxie tell Johnny that Elizabeth was fine, and in his head he believed her. But where it counted, in his gut, he still needed to see for himself.

He wished she had slept through the whole thing, or that she had called him the second she woke up. He could have been here by the time Johnny had punched Lucky out, instead of showing up when the threat was basically over. As he stepped off the elevator, he noted that Lucky was stirring on the floor, and he heard Johnny say, "Your partner's on the way." Lucky started sputtering, but Johnny continued, "Just stay where you are till he gets here, and Maxie won't mention this little incident to her father."

Lucky caught sight of Jason and sputtered, "Hey! You're the guy who was with Elizabeth earlier! Where is she? Is she here? I want to see her!"

Jason glared at him, and his protectiveness of Elizabeth overrode his usual inability to shade the truth. "No, she's not here, and she doesn't want to see you. My friend Johnny called and said his new girlfriend was having problems with an ex – I assume he meant you?" Lucky didn't respond, so Jason continued, "I thought maybe he could use some backup, but if I had known who he meant, I wouldn't have bothered." Jason was surprised at his own words – he normally didn't provoke people, but this guy just rubbed him the wrong way and he found he couldn't help himself.

Lucky jumped up with a roar, and charged at Jason. As tempted as he was to knock the man flat, he saw Johnny glance toward the elevator and realized they were no longer alone, so he simply stepped aside at the last minute. In his drunken state, Lucky couldn't stop his momentum; he bounced off the wall and landed flat on his ass just as his partner stepped off the elevator. With a sigh, the man assessed the situation. He said to Jason, "Sorry, he's a pain in the ass when he drinks. If you could see your way clear to not report this, I'm sure he'll appreciate it when he sobers up."

Jason nodded. "We don't want any trouble. I guess he just can't accept that Maxie is with Johnny now." The men ignored Lucky, who was sputtering from the floor about being provoked and just wanting to see his wife.

The door opened behind them and Maxie poked her head out. "Did I hear my name? Oh, hey Cruz, glad you're here. You've got to get him to stay away or I'll have to tell my dad." She had apparently been listening at the door, because she sidled up to Johnny and slid her arm through his, adding, "I'm with Johnny now. And I'm sure you can see why – he's totally hot, and on top of that, he's my hero, protecting me from Lucky's insanity." She turned and looped her free arm around Johnny's neck and pulled him down for a long kiss. "Thank you, sweetie." She grinned unrepentantly at the murderous look Johnny gave her with his eyes, even as he smiled for the benefit of their audience.

He said, "You're welcome, baby." He turned to Cruz. "Look, if you've got this, we'll go on inside." When Cruz nodded, Johnny added to Jason, "You want a beer before you go, since you came all the way over here?"

Jason said, "Sure," and followed them inside as Cruz hauled Lucky to his feet and dragged him to the elevator. Jason watched to be sure that Lucky actually got on the elevator before closing the door quietly behind him.

XXXXXXXXXXXX

As soon as the door closed, Maxie called out, "Elizabeth, you can come out now! Lucky's gone and Jason's here." The door to the bedroom opened and Elizabeth peeked out. Her hair was tousled and she paused to belt a robe tightly at her still-tiny waist. Jason's insides clenched at how beautiful she was. She looked up and met his eyes, and he realized she was on the verge of tears.

He crossed quickly to stand in front of her, keeping his eyes locked with hers and taking both her hands in his. "Hey, it's okay. He's gone, and he won't be back tonight. I promise."

She opened her mouth to say something, but no words came out; instead, she burst into tears and ripped her hands from his, then threw her arms around his neck. She buried her face in his chest and cried for all she was worth. His arms slid around her, and he picked her up and carried her over to a nearby armchair, where he sat down and settled her on his lap. He forgot about Maxie and Johnny, didn't even see them leave as Johnny shoved Maxie ahead of him into the other bedroom. His entire focus was on Elizabeth, and he whispered soothing words in her ear and rocked her like a child.

Finally, after almost half an hour, her sobs began to abate. She sniffed a few times, and he felt her brace herself as she finally looked up and met his eyes again. "I'm sorry," she said. "I'm sure you have better things to do than deal with my hysterics."

He smiled gently. "Not really. Not at the moment, anyway." She looked skeptical, so he added, "You were probably overdue for that. You've had a lot happen in the last few days – anyone would be upset."

"Yeah, but you hardly know me, and here you're stuck taking care of me yet again. And don't say anything about me being family – you still hardly know me and you can't possibly want to spend the pre-dawn hours having me cry all over you when you could be sleeping." She paused and sniffed again. "I'm not usually so emotional, you know. I don't cry like this, ever."

He kept his tone light. "Well, it's okay. You can cry on me anytime you want." He paused and gave her a teasing grin, "And you _are _family, so I don't see how not saying that helps." She gave him a watery smile and smacked him lightly on his chest, then moved to get up.

He liked holding her, so he squeezed her gently and said softly, "You don't have to get up if you don't want to."

She blushed. "I'm okay now. Really," she added when he raised an eyebrow. Her voice grew polite as she said, "Thanks for coming. I was afraid Lucky was gonna arrest Johnny."

"Don't worry about Lucky. His partner came and got him and saw for himself how out of control Lucky is. And anyway, we'll be out of here sometime tomorrow, so you don't have to see him again if you don't want to."

"Really? You're ready to go? Emily said it would probably be a couple more days before you finished your business here."

"No, it's done now."

"So you were just waiting for me? I told Emily not to put you out like that."

He smiled and said, "No, I had a meeting tonight that wrapped everything up." Which was sort of true – his discussion with Spinelli could be termed a meeting. He thought about telling her what his business in Seattle was, and that it had been completed the minute Spinelli had confirmed she was the sperm recipient he had been looking for. But he realized this wasn't the time for that. She had had a series of shocks in the last few days, and he didn't want her to start worrying about what it would mean that he was the biological father of her child. "I just need to call my partner in the morning and ask him to send the plane." He looked at the clock. "Actually, if I stay awake a little longer, I can catch him when he's getting up and it'll get here that much earlier."

"But aren't you tired?" Elizabeth asked. The concern in her voice warmed him. "There's really not that much rush. Cruz will keep a close eye on Lucky for a few days, so a few hours won't make much difference."

"It's okay," he replied. "I don't need much sleep, anyway." He watched with amusement as she tried to stifle a yawn. "But you probably do. Why don't you go on to bed? I'll stay out here on the couch, so you won't have to worry about anyone disturbing you again."

She said, "Oh, you don't have to do that. I told you, Lucky won't be back for a few days at least, and we'll be gone by then."

He set her on her feet in front of him and turned her toward her bedroom. "Go to bed," he said. "I'll see you in the morning." She started to protest again, but he said, "I'm not leaving, no matter what you say, so don't waste time arguing."

She sighed, "Fine, but only because I'm too tired anyway." She walked to the bedroom door, then paused and turned around. "Good night, Jason. And thank you." She quickly walked back to him and leaned over, kissing his cheek. "I don't know what I would have done without you and Johnny tonight." She rapidly returned to the bedroom and shut the door behind her.

Jason sighed, watching her go. He pulled out his phone and quickly dialed Sonny's number. He had gotten a message from Brenda earlier, saying that she had given Sonny the information about Courtney, so hopefully, Sonny was now over his previous anger. Sonny's voice came over the line, asking, "Jason? Is everything okay?"

Jason was relieved to hear nothing but concern and curiosity in his partner's voice. "Yeah, but I need a favor. Can you send the jet to Seattle, as soon as possible?"

"Yeah, sure, whatever you need. You're in Seattle?" Sonny didn't wait for a reply before continuing, "Oh, wait, I just sent Courtney to the island a few hours ago. The pilot is due to leave late this morning to come back, but I can call him and tell him to head to Seattle first if you want."

"Yeah, that would be helpful. I'm not coming straight back to Port Charles, though. I need to make a stop in the Midwest."

"What's goin' on, Jason? You've been gone a long time and it's not like you to just disappear like this." Sonny paused, and when Jason said nothing, he added, "Look, I know Courtney lied about the baby, and I should've known you would never lie about something like that. I assume Brenda told you the baby is AJ's?"

"Yeah," said Jason. "As long as it's not mine, I'm not worried about it. You sent her out of town?"

"Yeah. I don't want to see her right now – she made me doubt you, and now Brenda's pissed at me because I took Courtney's word over yours. I should've known better, and for what it's worth, I'm sorry. Anyway, I convinced her and AJ they needed to get married, so we took care of that last night. But he's pissed because he didn't know she was pregnant or that she was trying to pass the baby off as yours. So we agreed that he wouldn't have to see her until he's sure his temper is under control. As pissed as I am, she's still my sister, and I can't let him hurt her."

Jason sighed. "Yeah, I know."

"He said to tell you that he won't cause you any more problems. He says his priorities are changed now that he has a kid on the way."

"Do you believe him?"

"Well, he seemed sincere enough, but I guess we'll see if it lasts." Sonny paused. "Look, Jason, I know you have every right to be pissed at me for not trusting you about this mess, but if you're in trouble, I want you to know I'm there for you. I'll do whatever I can to help you."

"Nah, it's not really trouble exactly," Jason answered. "I'm just cleaning up a mess Jason Quartermaine made before the accident. Listen, I'll tell you about it when I get back, but in the meantime, get the plane here as soon as possible, okay?"

"Yeah, okay. I'll call the pilot as soon as we hang up." He paused. "You said you're not in trouble, but it sounds like you want a quick exit?"

Jason sighed. "Well, to be honest, it's not for me. It's a long story, but Emily's sister-in-law is coming back with me, and the sooner she's gone from here, the better. And before you ask, no, she's not in any kind of trouble that could come back on us. Just a bad marriage." Jason purposely didn't mention the fact that her husband was a cop.

Sonny said, "Okay, fine. I'll call the pilot now, and I'll see you in – what, a few days?"

"Probably no more than a week."

"Okay."

Sonny disconnected and immediately called the pilot. When the man answered, he said without preamble, "Instead of coming straight back to Port Charles, you need to go pick up Jason in Seattle. Take him and whoever is with him wherever he tells you, and you can just stay with him until he comes back unless I call you back before then."

He hung up and glanced at the clock. It was now almost 7:30 – no point in trying to sleep anymore. He headed for the kitchen, deciding he might as well get back to his apologize-to-Brenda campaign by making her breakfast.


	23. Chapter 22

_A/N: Here is the long-awaited next chapter ... I hope you enjoy it! Thanks for all the feedback and the nudges and the patience ..._

**Chapter 22**

**Port Charles**

On the afternoon of his brother's wedding rehearsal, Jerry waited patiently in his suite for Jax and Skye to join him. His investigation had turned up no particular reason why Corinthos-Morgan would be investigating Sam, and he still hoped to find something out without approaching the partners or Mrs. Corinthos directly. However, as the wedding approached, he could feel Sam's increasing desperation to stop it, and he decided he must do whatever it took to ensure that Jax and Skye were not caught unprepared by Sam's announcement. So he had requested their presence for an afternoon tea, using the excuse that Lady Jane would enjoy spending a little time with them before the wedding activities prevented it. And Lady Jane would be coming to tea – but she would arrive a half hour after they did, which would give him ample time to warn them of Sam's game and to decide on a strategy for dealing with her.

When the knock came, he moved quickly to let them in. "Perfect timing!" he exclaimed, leaning to kiss Skye's cheek. "The tea will be here shortly, as will Lady Jane. Come in, come in!" He gave Jax a quick hug and waved them into the room, taking their coats and hanging them in the closet. "There's something I wanted to show you before we enjoy our tea." He motioned them over to the sofa and sat in the armchair across from them.

Skye said, "Really? What's that?"

He said, "Well, as you know, I was concerned that Jax's old friend Sam might try to prevent the wedding…"

Jax interjected, "And I told you you were being paranoid."

Jerry continued as though he hadn't spoken, "… so I hired an investigation firm to see which of us was correct." He smiled. "That file on the table in front of you has the answer."

Jax rolled his eyes, "Always so dramatic, is my brother," he said to Skye, but after a moment, he picked up the file and opened it. Jerry engaged Skye in small talk, but both watched Jax covertly as he read the file. He became agitated and eventually stood and began pacing and muttering under his breath as he read it.

Skye became concerned. "What is it, Jax? Was Jerry right?"

He didn't answer until he had finished reading the file. He closed it and stood staring at it for a long moment, then he looked at Jerry and said, "Feel free to gloat."

Jerry sighed. "For your sake, I wish I had been wrong. You know I always have your best interests at heart."

Jax sighed. "I know you do." He closed his eyes briefly, then opened them and asked, "What do you suggest we do now?"

Skye interrupted, "Will one of you please tell me what's going on?"

Jax turned to her and said, "I'm sorry, darling. Apparently, Sam went and got herself pregnant." At the look on Skye's face, he hastened to assure her, "Don't worry, it's not mine. She's been seeing a fertility doctor for some kind of in vitro procedure using donor sperm." Skye relaxed visibly as he continued. "And just to clarify, it would complicate things if it were mine, but it wouldn't change my feelings, or our plans, at least for me."

Skye smiled slightly. She reached out and captured Jax's hand as he paced by. "For me, either," she said softly, and squeezed his hand.

Jax squeezed back and smiled with relief. "Well, then, nothing else matters all that much. In any event, she also has a long record of cons and manipulations, usually targeting wealthy men. I can only conclude that she must have been planning to pass the baby off as mine. It seems Jerry was right, after all – she's been playing me the entire time I've known her – probably hoping I'd marry her and give her unlimited access to my money," he added bitterly.

"That little lying tramp!" Skye exclaimed. "I can't believe she thought she could get away with it! Or that I would ever give you up!" She was clearly furious on Jax's behalf, but she made a visible effort to calm down. She squeezed Jax's hand again. "I'm sorry, darling. I know you liked her, thought of her as your friend. I'm sorry," she repeated.

He sighed and asked again, "So what do we do now? And why hasn't she dropped this on me yet? She's been here for days!"

Jerry said, "Well, I've been keeping a close eye on her, making sure she's had no opportunity to catch either of you alone before I could figure out what she was up to." He paused, then added, "As for what we do now, I have some ideas, but really, it's up to you and Skye. If you prefer that I handle it for you, I'll be happy to do that, but perhaps you'd rather handle it yourselves, and that's fine, too."

Skye looked from one to the other. "I'm half-tempted to give her some rope and let her hang herself. But I'd rather not have her cause a scene at our wedding. I want us to remember this as our day, not hers." She looked at Jax. "Darling, maybe we should let Jerry handle it."

"No," Jax said. "I want to look her in the eye when she realizes that I know everything, so I can make sure she's clear on the fact that she's dead to me and I never want to see her again. And although I agree that I want our wedding to be about us, I wouldn't mind if the rehearsal included a little public humiliation for my former friend – unless you object. Obviously, it's not worth spoiling anything for you."

Skye smiled wickedly and replied, "As long as it's taken care of today, I wouldn't mind seeing her suffer publicly for her attempt to ruin your life."

Jax smiled back and said, "I guess we're in agreement, then." He turned to Jerry, "Can you arrange something for me?"

"Of course, whatever you need." Jerry's voice betrayed his satisfaction at the way things were working out.

**The Island**

Courtney woke up from an afternoon nap and stretched languidly. She reached out for Jason, smiling, but the smile turned to a frown when her hand encountered only the cold cotton of empty sheets. She realized she had been dreaming again.

She sat up quickly – too quickly, she realized, as a wave of nausea hit her. She ran to the bathroom and emptied her stomach. _Really,_ she thought with disgust, _Why do they call it morning sickness when it happens all the damn day?_

She made her way slowly back to the bed, reaching for the saltines she had learned to keep close at hand. She couldn't get the dream out of her mind. In it, Jason made slow, sweet love to her, and told her all the things she wanted to hear – how he loved only her, and how he had been a fool to think he could ever live without her.

She had had that dream, or some variation of it, every time she lay down for months. It used to give her hope – someday he would come around. Someday he would realize that he loved her as much as she loved him. But now, all she felt was disappointment as she realized she had lost Jason, and all because of AJ and Sonny.

As she sat on the bed thinking about how unfair it all was, she began to cry, big, gulping sobs that left her hyperventilating and hiccupping.

After a while, her tears slowed and she began to think about what to do. She fed her disappointment and her anger until they hardened into a cold rage.

And once they did, she began to plan her revenge.

**Port Charles**

Emily hummed to herself as she waited for Brenda and Monica to join her for lunch. The three women had gotten themselves appointed as an ad hoc committee to plan and run the bone marrow drive, so they had a perfect excuse to meet frequently. Of course, they were also friends – family, really – so their discussions were never limited strictly to the bone marrow drive.

The event was set for two weeks from today, and everything was moving along as well as could be expected for an undertaking this big. Mercy had agreed to participate, so besides the meetings of the GH committee, they also had frequent phone calls and meetings with their counterparts at Mercy.

Today, the plan was to figure out which of three advertising firms they would hire to do a marketing blitz. They would meet and review the three submissions over lunch, then head over to Mercy to compare notes and make a final decision.

Emily looked up as the door jingled and Brenda breezed in, laughing into her cellphone before saying, "I'm here, gotta go," and hanging up. She joined Emily, leaning over to hug her quickly. "That was Spinelli. Jason's finally heading out of Seattle today. Apparently, your sister-in-law argues with him about everything."

"Really?" Emily frowned thoughtfully. "She didn't seem like the type when I talked to her – she apparently let her husband make all the decisions for years." Brenda shrugged, but Emily continued, "Although she didn't really have any problem arguing with me, did she? Oh God, I hope Jason is patient with her. He's gotta understand, she's going through a rough time. I'm sure she's not normally – "

Brenda interrupted, "Stop worrying, Emily. According to Spinelli, he actually seems amused by it. They bicker constantly, and Johnny thinks Jason is goading her half the time. He told Spinelli he overheard some ridiculous argument over how much of a tip Jason could leave her, where she told him it was too much, so he increased it even more."

"Really?" Emily looked surprised. "Jason usually avoids talking altogether, and hardly anyone argues with him, outside those of us who know him well. Everyone else is too scared of him."

"Well, she's definitely not scared of him, according to Spinelli." Brenda paused, looking like she wanted to say more, but wasn't sure if she should. But it wasn't like Brenda to censor herself, so all it took was a questioning look, and she continued, "I can't help thinking maybe he's … well, _interested_ in her … it would explain his strange behavior since he got to Seattle."

"What do you mean, strange behavior?" Emily asked.

"Who's behaving strangely?" Monica joined the women, adding, "Sorry I'm late."

"It's okay, I've only been here a few minutes myself," Brenda replied. She looked at Emily questioningly, apparently wondering if she should say more about Jason to Monica.

Emily shrugged and said, "Apparently, Jason's behaving strangely since he got to Seattle."

"How so?" Monica looked concerned. Emily explained briefly, with Brenda interjecting here and there to clarify things. They paused only twice – once to place their orders, and once when Penny delivered their food.

Finally, Monica sighed. "That _is_ uncharacteristic of Jason. But we probably aren't going to figure out why _either_ of my sons is behaving oddly right now, so we might as well get on with business."

Emily asked, "Wait, is AJ acting weird, too?"

"Oh," Brenda waved a hand dismissively. "Anyone in his position would probably act a little weird for a while, don't you think?"

Emily was perplexed, and she glanced at Monica to see if she had any idea what Brenda was talking about. Monica voiced the question for both of them. "What position?"

Brenda looked surprised. "He didn't tell you? Either of you?"

"Tell us what?" Emily pressed.

"AJ got married last night."

"_What?!_" The women spoke simultaneously. Monica looked too shocked to say more, so Emily continued, "AJ got married without telling the family? Why would he do that? And who did he marry?"

"Courtney. She's pregnant," Brenda said bluntly. Dead silence followed that announcement, as the women absorbed the shock.

"But I thought she was seeing Jason?" Monica finally asked carefully.

"Well, she was, but he ended that a few months ago, and apparently she's been seeing AJ for almost that long now. Anyway, they got married last night." Emily had a feeling there was more to the story than Brenda was saying, but decided not to press for details she would probably be better off not knowing.

"Why wouldn't he tell us?" Monica asked, still sounding shellshocked.

"Well, maybe he didn't have a chance. Or maybe he didn't know how," Emily speculated.

"Maybe I shouldn't have told you," Brenda said, although she didn't sound very concerned about having spilled the beans. "But anyway, now you know, and I'm sure he was gonna tell you eventually. It's not like you can keep a marriage and a baby secret indefinitely, is it?"

"No, I guess you can't," Emily concurred. She sighed, looked at her watch, and changed the subject. "I guess we better look at these ad proposals. We have to be at Mercy in an hour."

**Indianapolis**

The Corinthos-Morgan jet taxied to a stop on the tarmac, and Jason stood and stretched. Almost done with this business, and then he could get back to his normal life. Although, looking at Elizabeth, who was just stirring after sleeping almost the entire flight, he had a feeling that "normal" wouldn't look quite the same way it had a few months ago.

She pushed her hair back from her face and looked around as she sat up and stretched. "Are we there?"

"Yeah, we just landed. How'd you sleep?"

She yawned, then smiled at him. "Good, I guess. What now?"

"Now, we head down to Bloomington for a few days, where you can get all the rest you need."

Elizabeth blushed. "Sorry I wasn't better company. Where's everyone else?"

He gestured toward the back of the plane. "Back there. Last I checked, Maxie and Johnny were watching a movie, and Spinelli was playing some computer game." He glanced back and saw that the three were standing and gathering their things.

"Oh." She yawned again, then stood. She swayed on her feet, so Jason gently took her arm to steady her. She smiled at him again. "Thanks."

"You ready?" he asked.

Maxie joined them, speaking a mile a minute, as usual. "Elizabeth, did you sleep okay? You must've been really tired. I mean, I guess you're entitled after all that excitement last night and everything. Anyway, this private jet thing is awesome. Much better than flying commercial – "

Johnny came up behind her and interrupted, "Maybe we can continue this discussion in the car? I'd like to get to the hotel before it gets too late."

"Okay, sure, let's go," Maxie said, clearly not taking offense. "I'm ready whenever you are. Where's Spinelli?"

"The Jackal is here, at your service," Spinelli replied, carrying his laptop case over one shoulder and a duffel bag over the other. "May the Jackal assist the Blond one with her baggage?"

"I got it," Johnny said, grabbing Maxie's suitcase from the floor at her feet. His own duffel bag was slung over his shoulder, and he complained in a teasing tone, "Jeez, did you bring everything you own? This thing is heavy!"

She smacked his arm and said, "There are certain things a girl can't live without, Johnny."

"Like what?" he asked. "Free weights?" She smacked him again, and Jason decided to intervene before things got out of hand. He picked up his duffel bag and Elizabeth's overnight bag, ignoring her protest that she could carry it herself.

"Let's just go, okay? Spinelli, get the car." Spinelli nodded and headed out the door. "Johnny, call Sonny and tell him we're here. See if he needs the jet or if he's okay with us keeping it here for a few days." Johnny immediately pulled his phone from his pocket and made the call. "Elizabeth, Maxie, you ready?" At their nods, he said, "Okay, let's go. Are you hungry?"

Maxie said, "I've been snacking the whole trip, so no."

Elizabeth said, "Not really," as she headed for the door.

Maxie followed and said, "Elizabeth, I can hear your stomach growling." She called over her shoulder to Jason, "She's hungry. I don't know why she doesn't just admit it."

Although her back was to him, Jason just knew Elizabeth was frowning at Maxie. He heard her say quietly, "I don't want to hold everyone up." In a louder voice, she said to Jason, "I'll be fine till we get to the hotel."

Rather than argue with her, he said, "Well, _I'm_ hungry now, so we'll eat now." Johnny was off the phone, so Jason called to him, "Find us someplace local to eat." Johnny nodded and disappeared into the terminal, presumably to ask about restaurants.

"Do you always order people around like that?" Elizabeth asked grumpily, waiting for him as she stepped onto the pavement.

"I'm the boss. I'm supposed to order people around," Jason pointed out reasonably, herding her gently toward the warmth of the terminal. "Otherwise, how would they know what I want them to do?" He noticed that Maxie had caught up with Johnny and was talking a mile a minute again.

"You could ask them nicely. You know, say please and thank you."

"They don't care if I say please and thank you. They just want to know what to do." Jason enjoyed the militant light in Elizabeth's blue eyes.

"Everyone wants to be treated with respect," Elizabeth insisted.

"What does respect have to do with anything? I respect them, and they know it," Jason replied easily. "Saying please and thank you doesn't prove anything they don't already know."

"But it's the polite thing to do!" Elizabeth exclaimed.

He smiled at her teasingly. "Are you saying I'm not polite?"

"Yes, I am," she replied firmly.

"Well, just out of curiosity, is it considered polite to point out when someone's impolite?"

She blushed furiously. She sputtered for a moment, and finally said, "Well, _you_ were impolite first." She turned on her heel and stalked into the terminal.

Jason laughed out loud. He couldn't resist calling after her, "Elizabeth, _please_ wait! I'll even say thank you!" She didn't turn around, just tossed her head and joined Johnny and Maxie. Jason chuckled and decided to let her calm down, so he joined Spinelli at the rental car counter, then went with the younger man to get the SUV and bring it around to pick everyone else up.

As they walked out to get the car, he decided it would be _very_ polite if he let Johnny sit up front with Spinelli, while he sat in the back with Elizabeth and Maxie.


	24. Chapter 23

_A/N: Hehe … sometimes, I just gotta love Jerry … Enjoy!_

**Chapter 23**

**Bloomington**

Elizabeth paced back and forth in the living room of the hotel suite, while Johnny and Maxie looked on. Had she not been so irritated, she would have found the twin looks of bemusement on their faces comical. As it was, their apparent failure to understand her annoyance served only to irritate her more.

"I just don't understand why he's being so paranoid," she fumed aloud. "It's completely unreasonable that we have to stay cooped up here while he and Spinelli are off God-knows-where, doing God-knows-what."

"They had business to take care of," Johnny pointed out reasonably.

"What kind of business could they possibly have?" Elizabeth shot back. "They were dressed like ninjas when they left. Who goes to a business meeting dressed like a ninja?"

"And anyway, where exactly do you want to go?" Johnny's attempt to change the subject was transparent even in Elizabeth's agitated state, but she ignored that for the moment.

"That's _not_ the point, Johnny! Maybe I want to go to a movie or a bar or – or just _explore_ – this is a college town, so there must be something to do. But, noooooo, Mr. Bossy says 'stay put', and we're supposed to just stay put."

When she paused for breath, Maxie jumped in. "Elizabeth, I'm sure he doesn't mean to be bossy – well, maybe he can't help being bossy – but the thing is, you know he's just worried that Lucky will show up and cause trouble."

"Maxie, we're two thousand miles away from Seattle, and with the condition Lucky was in last night, there's no way he could even have realized we left yet. And besides, if you recall, Lucky thinks I have no friends, family, or money, so it won't even occur to him to look further away than – than _Tacoma_."

Johnny tried again, "Elizabeth, once you get to know Jason better, you'll realize that he's not bossy just to be bossy. He's just really overprotective of everyone he cares about. You should see him with Emily – he won't even curse in front of her. He needs to concentrate on business tonight, and if he doesn't know you're here, safe and sound with Maxie and me, he won't be able to concentrate." He paused, then added, "Call Emily if you don't believe me."

She considered that, but she just wasn't ready to calm down yet. She exploded again, "But he hardly knows me!" Johnny and Maxie now looked like they were both trying not to laugh, and part of Elizabeth recognized that she sounded like a whiny teenager. Still, she couldn't seem to stop herself. "Why should he be overprotective when he's only known me for a few days?"

When Johnny exchanged glances with Maxie before saying, "Elizabeth, it's been at least a week," she rolled her eyes. He ignored that as he continued, "and you know he thinks of you as family." He paused, glanced at Maxie again, then pointedly looked at Elizabeth's still-tiny waist. Fortunately, he didn't comment on her pregnancy, which she assumed Jason had told him about. She supposed she would have to tell Maxie eventually, but for some reason she still wasn't ready. When she didn't respond, Johnny added, "Look at it this way, if anything happened to you, it would upset Emily, and Jason would go to ridiculous lengths to avoid that."

Elizabeth was finally winding down, so it didn't bother her much – and she had to admit, she was curious herself – when Maxie asked in an intrigued tone, "Like what?"

"Well," Johnny thought for a moment, and finally said, "He can't stand his brother, but he makes an effort to be civil when Emily's around. And he hates crowds, but if Emily invites him to a party, he always shows up for a while…"

"That doesn't sound so ridiculous," Maxie said dismissively.

"If you knew Jason better, or if you'd ever met AJ, it would," Johnny said defensively.

Elizabeth finally flopped down in an armchair and said, "All right, fine. I'll stay here for now. But you can tell him for me that he shouldn't get used to bossing me around like he does to you and Spinelli."

"Why can't you tell him yourself?" Maxie asked curiously.

"Maybe I will, but it wouldn't hurt him to hear it from you guys, too." She paused, then pinned Johnny with a narrow look. "And don't think I didn't notice that you didn't answer me earlier."

"What?" Johnny's look was innocence personified, but she knew better.

"What kind of business would require Jason and Spinelli to leave here at night, dressed like ninjas?"

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Jason sat in the rental car, parked across the street from the Walker house. He hoped no one would notice him. The neighborhood was residential and quiet, and there wasn't really a good place to conduct surveillance from. He wasn't even sure why he was here. He had dropped Spinelli off near the clinic, and all the information they really needed would certainly be _there_, not _here_, so it would have made more sense to help Spinelli with that than to sit here, watching nothing much happen.

But he had felt an overwhelming need to see it all for himself – the house, the family, the neighborhood, the child – the little girl who had inadvertently set all this in motion. If not for her illness, he might never have known what Quartermaine had done all those years ago. And as uncomfortable as it was, as complicated as it might become, he was grateful to know. Not that he was happy the little girl was sick, but if not for that, he would never have known about his biological children.

He might never have met Elizabeth.

Sure, it was possible that she would have come to Port Charles anyway, to find Emily and Steven. She had obviously been considering it before he had met her. But she might have decided that they wouldn't want her around.

She might have gone somewhere else, and he might never have known her at all.

It was a thought that didn't bear considering, and so he turned his mind back to the house. Lights were on in some of the ground floor rooms, but upstairs was dark. Maybe the little girl was in bed already. It was after 8, and she was young and sick, so she was probably asleep.

He decided he had seen all that he could for tonight, so he pulled out his cell phone. After ascertaining with Johnny that Elizabeth and Maxie were still safely in the suite where he had left them, he called Spinelli to let him know he was on his way back to the clinic.

But the question of why it was so important to him to have Elizabeth in his life didn't completely leave his thoughts, and part of him continued to ponder the issue as he headed back across town to join Spinelli, and through the long, quiet hours of their surveillance.

It stayed with him as they finally packed up and drove back to the hotel, and as he let himself into the suite and peeked into her room to see for himself that she was safely asleep.

It still plagued him as he lay in bed, keeping him awake long enough to watch the first hints of dawn come through the slit in the curtains.

When he finally drifted off to sleep sometime later, he still had no satisfactory answer to his question.

**Port Charles**

Sam sat at the rehearsal dinner, trying to figure out what to do now. She had still not managed to tell either Jax or Skye about her pregnancy, and the wedding was tomorrow. To make matters worse, Jerry had been flirting with her outrageously all evening. To all outward appearances, he seemed to have given up his animosity toward her, and now seemed to be making every effort to seduce her.

She didn't trust it – didn't trust _him_. He had to be up to something – this must be just the latest step in whatever plan he had been using to keep her away from Jax and Skye.

She considered briefly whether sleeping with him would help her own plan along in any way – maybe she could get a look around his room and figure out what exactly he knew already. But knowing Jerry, it would backfire on her – he would probably not let her into his room at all if he hadn't secured his information elsewhere, and she wouldn't put it past him to tape them or something and then show it to Jax.

As bleak as her chances seemed now, they would be far worse if that happened. So she sat quietly at the table shared with the entire bridal party, and she smiled and laughed appropriately, and she toasted the happy couple along with everyone else.

Finally, she saw her opportunity. Skye slipped out, presumably to go to the ladies room, and Jerry seemed to be engaged in conversation with AJ, so she stood. Jerry glanced over and asked casually where she was going, so she smiled and said, "I have to powder my nose."

He said, "Well, don't be long, darling – you wouldn't want me to pine away while you're gone."

She deliberately widened her smile and flirted back, "Well, I'd hate it if you didn't miss me at all." Without giving him a chance to answer, she headed in the direction Skye had gone.

She didn't see Jerry's charming grin change to an icy, determined smile, nor did she see him signal the waiter. She was out of the room by the time the lights went down.

She headed immediately to the ladies room, and was surprised to find she was alone there. She wondered how Skye could have finished and left so quickly. _Maybe she didn't come here after all? Or maybe there's another ladies room nearby? _She left the ladies room herself and quickly walked through the bar and past the coatroom, outside to the balcony, looking around for the unmistakable red of Skye's hair. So intent was she on finding Skye that she didn't realize the other woman had circled around and re-entered the banquet room through another door.

After several minutes of searching, she realized that Jerry would be looking for her if she didn't return soon. She wanted to scream with frustration that she had missed yet another opportunity to stop the wedding. It was looking more and more like she would be speaking up when the priest said, "Speak now or forever hold your peace." Since this would be embarrassing for Jax, and she didn't want him any angrier with her than absolutely necessary, she wanted to avoid that.

Sighing, she headed back to the dinner. She frowned when she saw that the lights were dim, and she heard Jerry's voice coming over the speaker system. She slipped into the back of the room, and realized that Jerry's recorded voice was narrating over a tacky slide show about Jax and Skye's lives to this point. She had clearly missed the beginning – there were no baby or toddler pictures in sight.

Instead, she saw a picture of Jax at maybe 6 or 7 years old, holding a boomerang and grinning toothlessly. There was one of Skye at maybe 13, all elbows and knees and unruly red hair and braces. After several more pictures, some embarrassing, some sweet, they got to the story of Jax and Skye's romance.

There they were, talking at the cocktail party where they had first met, if Jerry's voice was to be believed. Then smiling into each other's eyes at a Quartermaine house party. Now laughing at some unknown shared joke. Next, the picture that had accompanied their engagement announcement flashed on the screen. _Thank God, it's almost over,_ Sam thought. The whole thing was just nauseating, in her opinion.

And then the next thing Jerry's voice was saying registered, "And their love has shown that it will survive any obstacle." A new picture flashed on the screen, and Sam could only watch in horror as she realized it was a picture of _her. _And not just _any_ picture – it was that awful mugshot they had taken in California when she had been arrested for killing that bastard she had married when she was Angela Munroe. His voice continued, "Fortunately, Jax's taste in women has improved dramatically in recent months. For example, he was smart enough to _not _get this criminal pregnant." Everyone laughed, and Sam felt herself start to sway. The picture wasn't a great likeness, and so far, no one seemed aware that she and the face on the screen were the same person. She needed to get out of there before everyone realized it was her, but she felt like she was frozen in place. The picture changed to show her entering the fertility clinic in Florida, and the voice just wouldn't stop. "He let her do _that_ herself, while he was busy cementing his relationship with the love of his life." The picture changed, to Jax and Skye toasting the New Year, with party hats and glasses of champagne. Her engagement ring was sparkling brightly, mocking Sam with its promise of everything she had hoped for and dreamed of for so long. "And here we are, ready for the formalizing of what anyone who has seen Jax and Skye together has always known was on the way." The picture changed once more, and as she glanced from the screen, where Skye and Jax were kissing, to where they sat, smiling into each other's eyes, she felt the contents of her stomach start to seriously rebel. She absently noticed that all eyes were now on her – perhaps she had made some sound of distress that had alerted them. It was all a blur.

She almost didn't feel her legs as they buckled under her. Her last thought before she lost consciousness was that Jax hadn't even looked her way.

And somehow, that seemed like the most humiliating thing of all.


	25. Chapter 24

_A/N: Hehe … just when you thought we were in a ho-free zone … but don't worry, I have a plan for even more humiliation down the road … Thanks for the amazing feedback, and a special welcome to those who have just started reading the story!_

_Happy Holidays to all!_

**Chapter 24**

**Port Charles**

Sam came slowly awake, but didn't immediately open her eyes. She had the feeling that whatever was awaiting her, she didn't want to deal with it just yet.

Her breathing must have changed, however, because she heard movement and then the last voice she wanted to hear spoke.

"Come now, Samantha, there's a good girl. I know you're awake, so you may as well open your eyes."

Still, she lay with her eyes closed for several moments longer, as Jerry's smooth voice brought back the memory of why she had fainted, and she felt again the abject humiliation of that moment.

"Now, Sam, don't be a coward. Whatever else you are, you were never a coward."

Finally, she opened her eyes, and mustered all her bravado into her voice. "What do you want, Jerry?" She looked past him, surprised to find that she was neither in the banquet room at the Metro Court nor in the hospital. "And where the hell are we?"

"I thought you might prefer not to be publicly available at the moment, so I had you brought to my room."

"Since when do you care what I prefer? And how do you know I don't need a doctor? As you know, I _am _pregnant."

"Don't worry, darling, a doctor is on his way to pay a house call even as we speak. You've only been out for a few minutes. How are you feeling?"

She struggled to sit up. "I don't know what game you're playing, Jerry, but I'm done. After that little scene you set up at the rehearsal, you've obviously won. Jax will marry his little millionairess and I'll go back to … somewhere else," she finished lamely, realizing suddenly that she couldn't go back to Florida. Jax and Jerry had too many connections there, and news of her downfall had probably already spread. She started to swing her feet off the bed, the irony of having wound up in his bed after all not lost on her. She started to laugh.

"I have to hand it to you, Jerry, you certainly know how to destroy a person's life." Her voice was as bitter as her laughter, and she fought to keep from crying. She would cry later, when she was alone. Maybe. All that time wasted; all those plans ruined. And now she had a stupid baby to deal with, and no millionaire husband to support them. _God, my life sucks._

His voice was chiding. "Now, Sam, you did it to yourself. I warned you about trying to take advantage of Jax. More than once, as I recall."

"Yeah, yeah, whatever. I just want to get out of here and get on with my life." She waited for a wave of dizziness to subside.

"Planning to find some other sucker to con?" Jerry asked silkily.

"Obviously, I've got other things on my mind right now. I'm pregnant, remember?"

"Well, darling, some of the best cons women ever invented work best when one is pregnant." He let that sink in, then laughed at the thoughtful expression she must have failed to hide. "That's what I love about you, Sam, darling – you always come up swinging. I must tell you, you made a more entertaining opponent than I expected."

She rolled her eyes. "You never told me why I'm really here, Jerry, and I'm not sure I want the answer anyway." She stood, then grabbed the wall to steady herself as she swayed briefly. "I'm leaving."

"Now, darling, don't be ridiculous. You're in no condition to go anywhere. And besides, I think you might want to hear what I have to say before you disappear." He hardened his gaze. "Sit down, Sam."

She sat, but only because she was tired, she told herself. Aloud, she said, "Look, I just want to forget any of this ever happened. I already admitted you won. Can we just skip the gloating?"

He laughed. "I wasn't planning to gloat – well, not much anyway. That's not what I wanted to discuss with you. I have a business proposition for you."

Sam's reply was sarcastic. "Sure you do. You don't like me, and you don't trust me, so there's no way you want to do business with me."

He ignored that and changed the subject. "Are you aware that I'm not the only one who has been investigating you?"

The abrupt shift in topic caught Sam off guard, and her response came out unbidden. "What? Who else would be investigating me?"

"You don't know?"

"_No_, I don't know. If I knew, I wouldn't be asking _you_."

"Well, what have you done lately that might get the Corinthos-Morgan organization interested in you?"

Sam was so stunned that she leaned back against the headboard, swinging her feet back onto the bed. "I have no idea. How do you know they're investigating me?"

"One of their men has been tailing you, and I don't think it was an accident that you had lunch with Mrs. Corinthos the other day."

"I met her in the bar," she said absently. "Maybe the lunch led to the investigation."

But Jerry shook his head emphatically. "No, darling, the investigation was happening already before the lunch date."

"I have no idea what they would want with me, Jerry." Her voice was impatient, and at his skeptical look, she insisted, "I _don't_! And why are you bothering to tell me this? You've made it perfectly clear that you don't like me."

"That wasn't personal. Just because you aren't worthy of Jax doesn't mean I don't like you. In point of fact, I'm not worthy of Jax, either, so we actually have something in common."

She digested that. It really irritated her that he was right; neither one of them was worthy of Jax. She changed the subject back to business. "So what's your proposition?"

"Well, Sam, it occurs to me that perhaps I can help you discover what Corinthos-Morgan wants with you."

When he paused, she asked impatiently, "In exchange for what, exactly?"

"Well, darling, depending on what they want with you, if there is profit to be made, we split it 50-50."

"Not that I'm agreeing to anything, but what if there isn't profit to be made?"

"Then, depending on how well we work together, we either embark on another endeavor, or we go our separate ways with no harm done."

"I don't trust you, so why would I agree to this?"

"Darling, it's wise of you not to trust me, as I've never been particularly trustworthy. However, what options do you have? Corinthos-Morgan is dangerous; it wouldn't be wise to try taking them on alone. I, however, have a number of resources available to me that would be useful to you, both in determining what they want and in dealing with them once we've done that. And you _are_ alone and pregnant."

"I still don't see the upside for you," Sam insisted.

"Perhaps a lot of money, perhaps not. If nothing else, Sam, dealing with you has never been dull." She snorted with disbelief, so he continued with a charming smile, "I detest boredom above all things." A knock sounded at the door. "Ah, there's the doctor. Relax for a while, make sure you and the baby are all right, and consider my offer." He walked to the door, and before opening it, he turned back. "Consider carefully, darling. I make a much better friend than enemy, and if you don't join forces with me, perhaps I'll see if Corinthos-Morgan is interested in having me on _their_ team."

He forestalled any response she might have made by opening the door. He ushered the doctor into the room and said, "I'll give you some privacy. I'll be back in half an hour." And just like that, he was gone.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Emily sighed as she settled into bed, curling into Steven's side. It had been quite a night. She had been shocked by the way Jerry had humiliated his date, but Skye and Jax had been unfazed. In fact, when she had approached Skye to see if she was all right, she had been left with the distinct impression that none of the evening's events had come as a surprise. Now, she said as much to Steven.

He mumbled something sleepily, so she went back to considering what that had been all about. It was clear the woman had some kind of criminal record, and apparently she had known Jax before he met Skye, and had gotten herself pregnant. She wondered briefly how Jax had learned all this, and how he knew the baby wasn't his.

At least, she assumed the baby wasn't his. Jax seemed like an honorable guy, so she doubted he would be marrying Skye if he was having a baby with another woman. Or maybe he would. Maybe he would just support his kid financially, but still marry the woman he really loved.

Too bad Sonny and Jax didn't get along … if Brenda had been there, Emily would have had someone to compare notes with and figure out what was going on.

The phone rang, interrupting her musings, and she glanced at the clock. 11:32. Her heart pounded with anxiety as she rolled over to look at the caller ID. Calls this late were rarely good news. The number was unfamiliar and long distance. She took a deep breath to steel herself and picked up the receiver.

"Hello?"

"Hello, is this the Webber residence?"

"Yes?" The voice on the other end was vaguely familiar, but Emily couldn't place it.

"This is Lucky Spencer. Is Elizabeth there? She said she was going to visit you and she was supposed to call and let me know she got there okay." Emily narrowed her eyes, knowing Elizabeth hadn't told him any such thing. He was clearly fishing for information. _How dumb does he think I am?_

"Lucky? Steven's sister's husband?" she asked disingenuously. She felt Steven stir beside her, so she kept her voice low.

"Yeah, you mean she's not there yet?" Man, he was good – he sounded worried rather than angry. But Johnny had told Brenda about the scene at Maxie's apartment when he had checked in about the jet, and Brenda had told Emily, so she knew he was probably more mad than concerned about Elizabeth's disappearance.

Meanwhile, she would do what she could to protect Elizabeth. She made her tone confused as she said, "Lucky, I'm sorry, but I don't know what you're talking about. I've never even met Elizabeth, and Steven hasn't seen her since before we got married. Why would she be coming here?"

"Well, I thought that's what she said. Maybe I misunderstood. Listen, if you hear from her, give me a call, okay? I'm really worried about her."

"Sure, Lucky. Listen, it's pretty late here, so I gotta go. Good luck finding Elizabeth." She managed to keep her voice even, but as she hung up, she almost laughed. _Yeah, sure, I'll tell you if I hear from her, you cheating bastard. And donkeys might fly out of my butt. You will never find her if I have anything to do with it. Thank God Jason is with her …_

Steven stirred enough to ask, "Everything okay?"

"Yeah, everything's fine." She snuggled back down into his arms. And everything really was fine. Jason and Johnny would protect Elizabeth, and Skye would marry Jax without any interference from the criminal con woman. Thinking about it now, Emily realized she had never felt so blessed that her life was, comparatively speaking, so very normal. She kissed her husband's cheek and whispered, "I love you so much." He smiled and mumbled something unintelligible in response.

She drifted off to sleep with a smile on her face.

**Bloomington**

Early the next morning, Johnny spoke quietly as Jason came into the living room of the suite. "Elizabeth was _not _happy about being stuck here all evening." Spinelli was in the shower, and the women hadn't come out of their shared bedroom yet, so he kept his voice low.

Jason sighed, keeping his voice equally soft as he answered, "Yeah, she made that pretty clear before we left. 'Don't you dare think you can keep me prisoner here' doesn't leave much room for misinterpretation."

"Yeah, well, once we calmed her down about that, she started asking questions about what business you and Spinelli were doing." Johnny grinned at the memory, and when Jason raised an eyebrow, he explained, "She wanted to know what kind of business gets done at night while dressed like a ninja."

Jason sighed again. "What did you tell her?"

"I told her it was none of her business, and if she really wanted to know, she should ask you herself. She said she would. Maxie probably will, too – she pestered me about it for the next hour. Oh, and Elizabeth also wanted me to tell you that you shouldn't expect her to always do what you tell her."

Jason rolled his eyes. Was this supposed to come as a surprise? She _never_ did what he said, at least not without a fight. "Did you tell her to tell me herself?"

"Yeah, but she said if it came from multiple sources, you might actually get it." Jason couldn't stop the chuckle that escaped him as he imagined her telling Johnny that. She really was adorable.

The two men paused as Spinelli joined them. Johnny asked, "How did things go last night? You got back late."

"Fine," was all Jason said, so Johnny looked inquiringly at Spinelli.

"The surveillance mission was successful, as we have identified some apparent weaknesses in the protection arrangements at the office of the healing arts. One or two more nights of surveillance should be sufficient to ensure that the patterns are habitual on the part of security personnel." He paused, frowning pointedly at Jason, and added, "Unless Stone Cold inexplicably decides the Jackal should watch the same personnel do the same things for a week, and then never enter the premises to secure the required information and specimens." Jason glared at him, so he hastily added, "Although Stone Cold clearly had excellent reasons for behaving as he did in the Emerald City," Under his breath, he added, "not that the Jackal has any idea what those reasons might have been."

Jason pretended not to hear him, saying only, "I want to be done and out of here in two days, three tops. Spinelli and I will be busy with the surveillance and the retrieval, so Johnny, you're responsible for keeping Elizabeth and Maxie safe."

Johnny groaned, "Are you sure you don't want to switch, Jason? You can stay here with the ladies, and Spinelli and I'll take care of business." At Jason's look, he said, "Okay, fine, but there's no way I'm gonna be able to keep them cooped up here for two days. I'm not sure I can keep them here for the rest of today. I told you what Elizabeth said about –"

He broke off as the door opened and Elizabeth came into the room, asking brightly, "What did I say about what?" She shut the door quietly behind her.

Johnny started to answer, but Jason beat him to it. "Don't you remember?"

She frowned and said, "I say a lot of things, and I remember them all. I just don't know exactly which one we're talking about right now."

Jason gave her a charming smile. "Apparently I shouldn't expect you to always do what I say."

"Oh, right," she grinned back. "Well, that's true, you shouldn't. Especially if it means sitting around in a boring hotel room all day."

Jason sighed. He realized he was being irrational in wanting to keep her safely in the room, so he grudgingly said, "Okay, well, I guess as long as you promise to stay with Johnny and do whatever he says, you can go out."

"Why do we have to do what Johnny says? Why should he be in charge?"

"Johnny is there to protect you. He's not gonna tell you what to do except if it's an issue of your safety, so I need you to promise to listen to him."

"I don't know why you're so hung up on my safety, Jason. Lucky won't be coming after me. I'm not in any danger."

"Can you please just humor me?" She started to frown, so he added, "I need to focus on business so we can all head home, and I won't be able to do that if I'm worrying that you'll make it harder for Johnny to protect you. So please, either stay here or listen to Johnny if you leave. Please." He grinned, remembering their conversation yesterday about the importance of saying please.

Her eyes sparkled and he wondered if she was thinking about that, too, but she said only, "All right, all right, you win. I'll listen to Johnny. But he better only boss me around if there's a safety issue." She gave Johnny a warning glare. He smiled innocently back at her.

Jason said, "Good. Thank you. Now, Spinelli and I have to go. We'll see you back here for dinner."

"Wait, you're gonna be gone all day?" Elizabeth asked. She didn't sound happy about that at all.

"Yeah, I'll be tied up all day. Look, I really have to go. You have my number if you need me, but otherwise, Johnny will look out for you and I'll see you for dinner."

She nodded, but she still didn't look happy. "What kind of business are you doing, anyway?"

"Can we talk about this later?" he replied. "I really have to get going now."

"Okay, fine, you can tell me about it at dinner."

"Fine." He headed toward the door.

_Great,_ he thought, _Now if only I can figure out what to say by dinnertime_.


	26. Chapter 25

_A/N: A big, giant thank you to those who nominated this story (and me) for Safe Place Awards! I feel blessed to have such supportive readers! And congratulations to all the other authors who were nominated! A lot of great fiction has been nominated, so I encourage you to go discover authors you may not be familiar with and then vote for your favorites. I can't post the link here, so I posted it in my author profile. Happy New Year and happy reading!_

**Chapter 25**

**Bloomington**

Jason sat again in the SUV outside the Walker house. It was nearly noon, and he had been sitting here for several hours, just watching, trying to get a sense of the family dynamics. It had snowed overnight, and he had watched the man come out and shovel the driveway and sidewalk. Two children had also come out, looking like miniature blue and pink Michelin men in their snow pants and winter jackets. They shrieked and laughed with innocent abandon as they made tracks and angels, then started to build large balls, apparently intending to make snowman. The girl, who was older, appeared to be directing the younger boy, with occasional pauses for advice from the man she knew as her father.

Jason wondered if the boy was also his biological child. All he knew was that the original letter from the sperm bank had mentioned the girl's sibling – which might or might not mean _full_ sibling – and that the kid wasn't a match for his sister's bone marrow. He decided there was no point in thinking about that now, as there was no way to answer the question at the moment. He'd find out anyway, when they broke into the clinic later.

When the man finished shoveling, he came and helped the kids stack the two smaller balls onto the larger base. The man said something to the little girl, then scooped up the boy and carried him on his shoulders up the freshly shoveled walk, then set the child down at the door. They didn't go in, though; the man merely opened the door and leaned in, and Jason wondered what was happening until he saw a hand reach out to the child with a carrot and an old scarf and hat.

Jason glanced back at the girl, who appeared to have dug through the snow covering a flower bed to pull something out. He smiled to himself as he watched them put the finishing touches onto the snowman: eyes and a crooked smile made out of wood chips, a carrot nose, and a hat and scarf.

He was having difficulty making up his mind, a circumstance he found both unfamiliar and uncomfortable. Should he introduce himself, or not? As the family finally went inside, he went through the pros and cons for the hundredth time that morning. On the one hand, he felt a strong desire to meet them – to have at least one contact with them before he went back to his own life. And he wanted to tell them about his efforts to find a bone marrow donor among his relatives. On the other hand, they appeared to be a happy, safe family – one that, for example, apparently felt no particular need to scan the area for strange vehicles. If any of his enemies found out about their connection to him – well, that certainly wouldn't be good. And anyway, they were under enough stress as it was, with the little girl's illness.

He wondered briefly if it was a good idea for her to be exerting herself in the snow, but decided that he would have to trust that the Walkers knew what they were doing. She had certainly seemed okay, and anyway, it simply wasn't his place to comment.

Sighing, he finally decided that since he wasn't sure, it would be better to leave them be. If he introduced himself and that turned out to be the wrong decision, it couldn't be taken back. And he could always contact them later, if the timing ever seemed right, but for now, he had seen enough to feel confident that the children were well-cared-for and happy and safe. Therefore, his own selfish desire to know them would have to be put aside in favor of keeping them safe and secure and happy.

He started the car and, just as he pulled away from the curb, his phone rang. He glanced at it and, seeing it was Emily, he flipped it open. "Hey, Em, what's up?" He put it on speaker so he could talk to her while he drove to where he had left Spinelli, near the clinic.

"Well, I thought you would want to know – Lucky called here last night, looking for Elizabeth."

Jason frowned. "That was quick. What did he say?" Jason listened intently as Emily recounted the conversation. When she was done, he said thoughtfully, "Well, hopefully, that will keep him off the trail for a while. Let me know if you hear from him again."

"Of course. Don't worry, Jason, we won't let him near her." Emily's voice was confident.

"Yeah, I know." He sighed, adding skeptically, "I just hope she cooperates with the precautions we're gonna have to take until we know he's given up for sure."

"What do you mean? Do you think she won't cooperate?" Emily sounded surprised at the idea.

"Well, Em, she doesn't like to be told what to do, and she's convinced herself that he's already forgotten all about her. It might be a challenge to convince her that she can't assume that."

"Well, I'm sure she'll be reasonable once she knows he's already looking here for her."

Jason wasn't so sure about that, but he decided to let the matter drop. He changed the subject. "How's the marrow drive coming?"

"Okay. We're pretty well set to go. We've set the date for March fifth, which doesn't give us a lot of time to advertise, but we think it will be okay. Grandfather has agreed to have ELQ underwrite a media blitz; we picked the advertising company and they're working on a great campaign. We've arranged a press conference for the day after tomorrow."

"Good," Jason said. "That's really good. Thank you."

"You're welcome. I just hope we find a match. I assume you know you didn't match?"

"Yeah, Monica left me a message. I wonder if the girl's family knows yet."

"I don't know. Monica let the sperm bank know, I think, so if they don't know yet, they will soon." After a short pause, Emily asked carefully. "Have you seen her?"

"Who?" Jason asked. "The little girl?" At her murmured yes, he said, "I'm just leaving there now. They looked happy, from the outside at least. You'd never know she was sick."

"Well, I'm sure she has good days and bad days, you know?"

"Yeah. I don't even know if they're doing any treatment right now, or if they're just waiting and hoping for a match, or if they gave up when they found out I wasn't a match. It's really hard, not knowing."

"Maybe you should get in touch with them, let them know not to give up just yet."

"I thought about it, but I don't want to upset them," Jason said. "If I could let them know some other way, I would, though."

There was a pause, then Emily said, "If you give me their address, I could send them information about the marrow drive …"

Jason thought about that briefly, trying to evaluate any potential downsides. Deciding it was the best compromise, he said, "I'll have Spinelli email you the information. Thanks."

"Don't mention it, Jason. I'm just glad I can help."

Jason pulled into the parking garage across the street from the clinic. He said goodbye to Emily and then texted Spinelli that he was back. Spinelli responded immediately with directions to a side door of one of Indiana University's many classroom buildings, where Spinelli had found an isolated study alcove that had a perfect view of the clinic. He just opened his computer and pulled up some programming language. No one really noticed him after that, or if they did, they thought nothing of it if he seemed to be staring out the window a lot – just another student wishing he didn't have homework to do.

He had told Jason yesterday that it was a secure building, but that other students just let him in, no questions asked. He wasn't sure if that would work for Jason, though, because Jason didn't really look like a college student the way Spinelli did. So they had planned that Spinelli would just come and let him in whenever he arrived. If anyone came by, they would pretend that Spinelli was tutoring Jason in some programming language or another. After all, anyone who wanted to learn a computer language could do worse than hiring a student from IU.

They spent the rest of the afternoon without incident, observing the traffic in and around the clinic building. The only excitement came from periodic updates from Johnny. He was being dragged around Bloomington by Elizabeth and Maxie, who wanted to shop. .

First, Johnny had called from an estate jewelry store. "Maxie found a pair of art deco earrings that she says she can't live without. Do you want me to give her cash or should I let her use her credit card?"

Jason sighed. "I guess that depends on whether we want to leave open the possibility that Lucky guesses Elizabeth is with Maxie, and runs a trace."

Johnny pointed out, "Well, if he does, we'll probably be long gone before he can get here."

"True," Jason replied, "But if he questions people, the two of them are pretty memorable, especially if Maxie is spending a lot, so chances are he'll get confirmation that they're together, which I would rather delay. If he catches up with Elizabeth, I want it to be in Port Charles, where she'll be better protected." He sighed. "Give Maxie cash for the earrings, and whatever else she wants, I guess. She can pay you back, or if she doesn't, I will."

For his next update, Johnny sent Jason's phone a picture of Elizabeth trying on a vintage black leather jacket in a consignment shop. She was looking down at her hand on the leather with a wistful expression on her face, which became obvious when Spinelli showed him how the picture could be forwarded to email and viewed on the laptop rather than the tiny screen of the phone. Jason called Johnny immediately.

Johnny answered in a whisper, "She really loves it, boss, but she insists she can't afford it. She won't let either one of us buy it for her."

Jason smiled. "Have them put it aside and text me the name and address of the stop. We'll pick it up on the way back to the hotel."

"You got it, boss." Johnny hung up.

The third update came via text. It said, "Stopped 4 happy hour. E & M doing tequila shots. Suggested return 2 hotel or switch 2 beer. No go. Getting crowded. Ideas?"

Jason abruptly decided that it was time to go. He showed Spinelli the message and said, "Find out where they are and pack up."

XXXXXXXXXXXX

Across town, Johnny watched, bemused, as Elizabeth and Maxie each downed another shot. He was surprised Elizabeth was drinking in her condition, but he had heard Maxie say something about tequila … before they both banished him to the other side of the bar, out of earshot. Apparently, they wanted to have girl talk. He had gone over once to suggest going back to the hotel, but they had shooed him away. In desperation, he texted Jason when he saw some guys that looked like college jocks eyeing the women. He glared at the jocks in an attempt to keep them from approaching, but it wasn't very effective from across the bar.

Looking more closely now, however, he suddenly realized that Elizabeth was drinking something different than Maxie. He leaned across the bar and waved the bartender over. "What are you serving them?" He gestured toward Elizabeth and Maxie as he slipped the bartender a twenty.

"Well, the blonde is doing tequila shots, but the brunette is doing shots of club soda as if they were tequila." He shook his head. "I've seen a lot of things in my time, but never anything like that before."

Johnny said, "Yeah, well, don't worry about it. And, hey, I've got their tab, okay?" He handed the man a hundred dollar bill, and pulled out his phone to call Jason again.

**Port Charles**

AJ looked around the living room of the Quartermaine mansion. He had called a family meeting, having decided that he needed to announce his marriage to the family before they heard about it from someone else. They weren't here yet, and he used the few moments he had left before the usual family pandemonium erupted to try to calm his nerves. He looked longingly at the brandy decanter on the bar, but settled for a glass of water. He was determined to be a good father, and that meant no drinking. Period.

It hadn't taken him as long as he had expected to be able to control his anger at Courtney. He still didn't like the way she had plotted to trap Jason, using _his_ kid, but he had realized a few things as he had sobered up. For one thing, he hadn't given her any reason to think he would be a good father, and whatever else Jason was, he had always been good with kids. Certainly, he seemed popular with Sonny's daughter and Emily's children.

And more importantly than that, what was done was done. She was pregnant, and he was the father. And if he was going to be a good father, he had to find a way to deal with his kid's mother.

He had called Sonny earlier that day and said as much. Sonny had sounded surprised to hear from him so soon, and a little skeptical that AJ would really be able to control his temper. But AJ had simply said, "She's carrying my kid, Sonny. That changes everything. Maybe I'm not completely over it, but I have to do what's best for my kid. Kids need their mothers, so I have to get over it. And in the meantime, I'll just keep reminding myself that getting along with Courtney is what's best for my kid." He was surprised to hear a note of grudging respect in Sonny's voice when he had finally agreed to have the jet ready to take him to the island tomorrow morning. And he was surprised to find that earning respect from Sonny actually mattered. Maybe because he was married to the man's sister, maybe because Sonny was going to be his child's uncle, or maybe because he had taken a long look at his life and realized that he had to make some major changes in the way he related to everyone in his world. And Sonny was now in his world, like it or not, so that was as good a place to start as any.

He would get through this family meeting, and then he would go to a nearby AA meeting, which he had already identified. He had actually scheduled the family meeting with it in mind. He had been to another one earlier today – in fact, he had been attending two a day since he had married Courtney three nights ago. For now, he needed the support, and if that's what it took to keep him sober, that's what he would do.

Fortunately, the first person to arrive was his mother. She spoke as she walked into the room. "AJ? Is everything all right? Your message had me a little concerned."

"Everything is fine, Mom. I just have some important news, and I thought it would be better to share it with the entire family at once."

"Oh, okay," she said. "I hope it's good news, since you said everything is fine?"

"What's good news?" Alan asked, as he joined them. "Did I miss something?"

"No," Monica replied. "AJ says he has important news for the family, and I was hoping it was good news."

"AJ never has good news," Edward grumped as he walked into the room. "He probably wants to tell us he lost his ELQ shares in a drunken poker game or something."

"Be quiet, Father," Alan said. "Is it any wonder AJ drinks, with you always criticizing and assuming the worst?"

"He's standing there with a drink right now," Edward said. "And history tells us that it's not just water." He waved a hand. "Let's get this over with before he's too drunk to remember his news."

"Well, Grandfather, if you'd like a sip of my _water_ while we wait for Emily, please feel free," AJ interjected. Edward waved a dismissive hand again, poured himself a brandy, and sat down in his favorite armchair.

Right on cue, Emily breezed in. "Am I late? Steven had an emergency at the hospital, so I had to ask Brenda to come babysit."

"You could have brought my great-grandchildren to see me," Edward groused. "It's been ages, and I'm sure nothing AJ has to say could be as important as that." He quieted again when that elicited simultaneous gasps from his family:

"Father!" yelled Alan.

"Grandfather! Please be nice to my brother," Emily demanded.

"Edward!" Monica snapped. "Kindly remember that this is _my house_, and if you can't be civil to _my son_, you may just find yourself out on your ear!"

Only AJ appeared amused. He put two fingers to his lips and whistled. Everyone turned to look at him. "I'll just say this quickly, and then I have to go pack. I'm going out of town for a while."

"What?" Monica asked. "Where are you going? Are you sure you're all right?"

"Don't let Grandfather drive you out of town, AJ," Emily pleaded. "I would miss you!"

Alan glared at Edward, "What did you do to him now?"

Before Edward could respond, AJ yelled, "Hold it! I have the floor, and I don't want to hear a word out of any of you until I'm finished." He glared at each of them in turn, until they nodded. He said, "I'm going out of town because I got married a few days ago, and my new wife needed to get away for a while. I'll be joining her in the Caribbean for a long vacation tomorrow."

There was a stunned silence – although AJ absently noted that neither Monica nor Emily looked all that shocked. Then they all began to talk at once again.

"Married?" Alan asked. "I didn't even know you were seeing anyone."

"I hope you had the sense to get a prenup," Edward boomed. "Who knows what kind of gold digger you found in your drunken stupor?"

"Edward, be quiet," Monica said. "AJ, this is pretty sudden. Why the rush?"

"Congratulations, AJ," said Emily, and crossed the room to hug him. "But I wish I had been there to celebrate with you."

"We all would have," Alan said.

"The girl is probably completely unacceptable," Edward grumbled. "Otherwise he would have had a proper wedding with his family there."

AJ had had enough. "Since when has this family ever behaved properly when they were in a room together? It was a sudden decision, but no, I wasn't drunk when I married her. And you all know her, at least by sight. She used to date Jason. Her name is Courtney Matthews – well, Quartermaine now. And I expect you all to treat her with respect. She is, after all, going to be a member of this family and the mother of my children."

"Children?" Edward asked suspiciously. "Is she pregnant?"

AJ didn't let Edward's tone faze him. "Yes, as a matter of fact, she is. And before you ask, yes, that is why we got married so quickly, and yes, the baby is definitely mine. And yes, I am happy that I'm going to be a father, and I plan to do what it takes to be a good one." He didn't want to lie, so he didn't say that he was happy to be married to Courtney or that he would have married her anyway, since he wouldn't have. He continued, "Starting with, I've quit drinking, and I've started going to AA."

"We've heard that before," Edward inserted skeptically.

"Edward!" Monica insisted, "If you don't shut your mouth, I'll shut it for you."

AJ interjected, "No, Mom, it's all right." She looked worried, so he added, "Really, it is. I've given you all plenty of reasons for doubting me in the past. But I'm a Quartermaine, and nothing gets in the way of a determined Quartermaine. Does it, Grandfather?" he asked pointedly.

Edward merely grumbled something unintelligible. Emily said, "Well, AJ, if you're happy, I'm happy. And I really think you'll be a wonderful father. The most important thing is to put the baby's needs first, and I can see you're doing that." She kissed his cheek. "Let me know if you need anything." She looked around the room. "We're all here to support you, aren't we?" Monica and Alan nodded, and when she glared at Edward, he finally nodded, too. "Now, I have to get home. Why don't we leave together? Didn't you say you have to pack?"

"Yeah, that's a good plan." He headed toward the foyer, pausing to lean over and kiss his mother's cheek. "I'll call you when I get to the island." He smiled reassuringly at her. "Don't worry. Everything is fine."

The room fell silent as he left with Emily, but as he opened the front door to let her precede him out, he heard the three of them start talking all at once. He smiled to himself. _Some things never change. _He then added silently, _But some things do … And I'm one of them._

**The Island**

Courtney fumed as she hung up the phone. Sonny hadn't even bothered to call her himself. Instead, he had asked Max to call her. _Max, who hates me, just like Sonny's bitch of a wife does. _How humiliating to have Max say, "Mr. C said I should call you and tell you your husband's coming to stay with you till the baby comes."

She didn't want AJ here. It would ruin all her plans to have him show up this soon. She wanted to ruin his life, and she had figured the easiest way to do it was to get rid of this stupid baby that he seemed to want so much. Now that she couldn't use the baby to get Jason to marry her, she wanted nothing to do with being a mother.

She had been working one of the younger guards since she got here. Really, he was so easy to manipulate it was ridiculous. All it took was a few tears here and there, a little whining about how her brother made her marry a person she didn't love. Add a few hints about her husband's drinking, a comment about his temper followed by a sudden, embarrassed change of subject, or a dramatic silence, and he was convinced her husband and brother were evil demons that he should protect her from. Never mind that he worked for one and had never even met the other.

But if AJ arrived now, she wouldn't have time to mention her pregnancy, or her fear that she would never escape her evil husband. She wouldn't have time to get him to come up with the idea of an abortion. And she needed the baby to be gone, to destroy AJ and to take control of her own life again.

Then she would make sure Sonny knew it was all his fault, for forcing her to marry the jerk. Sonny had always been a little unbalanced, so she would find a way to use his guilt against him, and send him completely around the bend.

And the beauty of it was, seeing Sonny like that would distract Jason and Brenda and all the guards who hated her, and that would make it easier to get back at them, too. Or maybe, once everyone else was out of the way, Jason would be alone and he would finally realize that he belonged to her.

But AJ coming now would complicate things. _Crap. I'll just have to come up with a new plan_. She stared thoughtfully at her reflection in the mirror across the room. _Everyone underestimates me. But I'll show them. I'll show them all._

She turned over ideas in her mind. Maybe she could manipulate AJ into losing his temper in front of the guard, and then get the guard to run away with her …


	27. Chapter 26

Chapter 26

**Bloomington**

"I thought we agreed you would listen to Johnny if you left the hotel," Jason said from behind Elizabeth. She jumped and turned around to glare at him. Apparently, the look on her face made Spinelli nervous, since he said a quick hello to Maxie and then headed around to the other side of the bar, where Johnny was still nursing a beer.

"What do you mean? Johnny didn't tell me not to do this."

Jason didn't answer right away. Instead, he stared blandly at the two college boys who had been talking to her and Maxie when he walked up. They stared back for a moment, then apparently decided it would be in their best interests to leave. They didn't even say goodbye.

When they were gone, Jason said, "Johnny said he asked you to go back to the hotel with him. That qualifies, don't you think?"

"Well, he also wanted me to switch to beer, which is just stupid considering I'm pregnant." She ignored Maxie's gasp behind her. _So much for keeping that secret._ A part of her was annoyed that Jason had made her forget herself and let the cat out of the bag, while another part was relieved that it was out in the open now. "So I figured I couldn't take his suggestions seriously. And how did you make those guys leave without even saying a word? You need to teach me how to do that."

Maxie said, "You're pregnant?! Why didn't you tell me?! Ohmigod, I can't believe you're pregnant! Does Lucky know?" She paused for breath, then added, "Ohmigod, should you be drinking?"

Jason ignored Maxie for the moment, focusing his full attention on Elizabeth. "Johnny thought you were drinking tequila, which makes beer the lesser of two evils, doesn't it?"

"What?!" Elizabeth turned to glare across the bar at Johnny, who slumped further down on the barstool and avoided her eyes. "How could he even think I would put my baby at risk? He should know better," she groused. She turned to Maxie, softening her voice. "I'm sorry I didn't tell you. I wasn't ready to talk about it. I'm not sure I'm ready to talk about it now. Please don't be mad at me." She paused to glare at Jason again. "So, since I didn't want to talk about being pregnant, I just told the bartender to give me shots of club soda instead of tequila. But _some_ people apparently think I'm a horrible mother."

"It's okay, Elizabeth," Maxie said. "I've only been your best friend for a week." She glared at Jason. "And anyone can tell you'll be a wonderful mother." She added with delight, "And I'm going to be the best honorary aunt ever. You wait and see! I'll spoil your baby rotten!"

Jason interrupted. "No one thinks you're a horrible mother, Elizabeth. Johnny figured out pretty quickly that you weren't actually drinking tequila."

"Well, then why did he call you? At least, I assume he called you. And why did you hightail over here so fast if you knew I wasn't actually drinking?"

"Wait," Maxie interjected. "Johnny knew you were pregnant, too? He should have told me. That way you wouldn't have had to worry that I might be unhappy about it."

"He probably didn't think it was his business," Elizabeth replied soothingly. "He's remarkably tight-lipped about other people's business. I mean, he won't tell me anything about Jason's business, right? Of course, he couldn't wait to tell Jason I was drinking, even though I _wasn't_." She glared at Johnny again.

"Elizabeth," Jason said patiently, "I knew you weren't doing shots of tequila. I know you're already a great mother, so obviously, I never thought you were drinking tequila. I just assumed Johnny was mistaken about that when he texted me, and he realized it pretty quickly, too. He called me five minutes later to tell me that you were drinking club soda."

"Well, then, why are you here?"

"Yeah, why are you here?" Maxie echoed. "We were having quality girl-time till you showed up."

"Johnny also said that some guys were harassing you, and I was worried."

"He said guys were harassing me?" She turned to glare at Johnny again, but he was still studiously avoiding her gaze. "That's ridiculous. They weren't even talking to me until about five minutes ago."

"Well, he said it was getting crowded in here. Same difference."

Maxie fielded that one. "What do you mean, same difference? 'Crowded' and 'harassing' aren't even remotely the same thing. And Elizabeth and I are perfectly capable of handling ourselves, aren't we, Elizabeth?" Elizabeth nodded agreement, as Maxie turned to glare at Johnny. He was now watching them closely, although it was unlikely that he could hear them. He shrugged helplessly and gave Maxie a charming smile. She turned back to Elizabeth and said, "I need to go set Johnny straight. Will you be okay here?"

"Of course she'll be okay," Jason growled. "Why wouldn't she be?"

"Well, maybe she doesn't want to deal with you right now," Maxie insisted.

"Maxie, it's okay, I'll be fine." A hint of amusement crept into her voice. "Go yell at Johnny."

"Okay, I will," Maxie said. "But I'll come back if you need me." She turned to Jason. "Be nice, Jason. Elizabeth is pregnant and she doesn't need to get all worked up in her condition." Without giving him a chance to respond, she stalked over to Johnny and Spinelli.

Elizabeth watched her go, then turned to Jason. "Johnny better watch out. Maxie is ridiculously protective of me. Kind of like someone else I know." She pointedly raised an eyebrow.

He sighed. "Well, I'm sorry if you think I'm overprotective, but I'd rather be safe than sorry." He paused, debating whether to tell her that Lucky was already looking for her. He had just decided to let that wait when she narrowed her eyes.

"What? What aren't you telling me?"

He tried to look innocent. "What do you mean?"

"This is more than you being overprotective, isn't it?"

He looked away and rubbed his hand over his forehead. "I don't want you to worry. You're not in any danger. As long as you let Johnny do his job, that is."

She grabbed his hand and pulled it away from his face, forcing him to look at her. "What are you so worried about?"

"Fine. Lucky called Emily, fishing for information about whether you went there." At her panicked expression, he touched her cheek and ducked to look her in the eye. "Don't worry, she covered. And even if he eventually tracks you there, he won't get anywhere near you or the baby. I promise."

She started to respond, "But what if – ?"

He interrupted. "There is no 'what if', Elizabeth. He can't hurt you anymore. Trust me, okay?" He held her gaze until she nodded slowly.

"Okay." She looked like she wanted to say more, so he waited. Finally, she said softly, "Thank you, Jason, for everything. I know you never asked for all this trouble, and I really do appreciate all you've done for me."

"Hey," he whispered, "It's no trouble." Wanting to remove the worry from her eyes, he drew her into his arms and held her close until he felt her relax. He teased, "I keep telling you, I like helping you, when you actually let me." He felt her smile against his shoulder, then she pulled back to grin at him.

"Well, I really am grateful, even if you are sometimes a pain about it." He grinned back at her. She said, "Can we go get dinner now? I'm suddenly starving."

"Sure," he said. He signaled to Johnny and watched the other man start herding Spinelli and a still-talking Maxie toward the door. "What are you in the mood to eat?"

**Port Charles**

Later that evening, Emily helped Skye into her wedding gown. She had already explained to Skye why AJ might not make it to the wedding, since Skye had been understandably unable to attend the family meeting earlier that day. Emily herself had had to squeeze it in, since she was Skye's maid of honor. She had managed to stop by right before her appointments with the manicurist and the hairdresser. It had turned out to be a good thing that Brenda had told her about AJ's wedding and Courtney's pregnancy; otherwise, she might have skipped the meeting altogether. But knowing the stress he was under, and on the assumption that her grandfather's reaction might be less than supportive, she had realized how important it would be for her to be there.

Now, as she buttoned the fifty silk-covered buttons that ran down the back of Skye's raw silk gown, wondering why on earth Skye hadn't chosen a dress with a zipper and fake buttons like most of the world did these days, she contemplated how things had changed so quickly in her family. Skye had only met Jax a few months ago, and now they were getting married. AJ was a husband and soon-to-be father, and suddenly seemed to be showing evidence of the Quartermaine strength and determination that had always appeared to have passed him by somehow. And Jason – well, Jason was suddenly dealing with a lot of changes in his life, too. And he certainly seemed intrigued with Elizabeth, who was herself experiencing some major upheaval in her life.

Emily couldn't wait to meet her sister-in-law. She couldn't remember the last time her brother's voice had held that note of amusement that was so frequently there when Elizabeth came up in conversation.

As she finally finished with the last of Skye's buttons, their eyes met in the mirror. "You're such a beautiful bride, Skye. Jax is so lucky to be marrying you."

"Thanks, Emily, but I'm the lucky one. I didn't know I could be so happy, or so in love, or so absolutely certain that he loves me back." She stood and hugged her sister. "And thank God Jerry found out about Samantha McCall's scam before she had a chance to ruin everything."

"Do you really think she could have ruined everything?" Emily asked curiously. She still hadn't gotten the whole story out of Skye.

"Maybe. Or maybe not." She sighed, then smiled. "Truthfully, I think Jax and I would have come through it eventually. I mean, it's not like he cheated on me or anything. And we love each other so much. But it really would have complicated things if a woman like that were the mother of Jax's child, you know?"

"Yeah, I guess," Emily replied. "But I think you're right. You and Jax can get through anything together. It's obvious how much you love each other." She paused. "I just hope AJ and Courtney can manage to find some way to – well, to get along and make a happy home for their baby."

"Yeah," Skye said. "I hope so, too. AJ deserves a little happiness, and I hope he's as committed to sobriety and fatherhood as you say he is."

"Yeah. I guess we'll see, won't we?"

There was a knock on the door, and Monica poked her head in. "Can I come in?"

Skye smiled and stood to face her stepmother. "Of course, Monica. We were just discussing how we hope AJ finds some happiness and peace with his new family."

Monica said, "Well, we all hope for that, don't we? He called to say he finished packing, and he's going to come to the wedding but not the reception. He wants to celebrate and wish you happiness, Skye, but he's afraid the temptation will be too much at the reception."

Skye's smile widened. "Oh, I'm just so glad he'll be at the ceremony. And I think skipping the reception is a smart choice, so that's fine."

"Anyway," Monica said softly, "that's not the reason I came in. I wanted to make sure all the traditions are covered, so I brought you something old and borrowed." She opened her purse and pulled out a small box. "These earrings belonged to Lila's mother, and then to Lila, and now to Tracy, but I convinced Tracy to loan them to you for the wedding. I know you loved Lila as much as the rest of us did, so I hope they'll help you feel her presence with you today. You know she's wishing you happiness, wherever she is."

Skye opened the box and looked at the antique pearl-and-diamond earrings. She hugged Monica, tears in her eyes. "Thank you, Monica. I know we've had our differences, but it means a lot to me that you would take on Tracy over this. I know she would be happier if I just disappeared."

Monica laughed. "Well, that's something you and I have in common. And it wasn't as hard as you might think. I just pointed out how disappointed her mother would have been if she wasn't generous on your wedding day, at least. And as for our differences, I hope we can put them behind us. Neither one of us is going anywhere, and I know Alan and Emily would both like us to get along."

Emily interjected, "Yes, we would. Maybe this can be a first step toward all the Quartermaines – by birth, marriage, or adoption – getting along like a normal family."

Skye laughed and said, "Emily, I love that you're such an optimist." She paused, then added, "But I hope you're right – that things can at least move in that direction. After all, I should be optimistic on my wedding day, shouldn't I? And you know, Monica, I've always thought I could learn a lot from you about the best way to deal with the Quartermaine clan. I hope that when I get back from the honeymoon, we can try getting to know each other with an open mind. I know it couldn't have been easy, having Alan's grown daughter just show up and join the family out of the blue."

Monica squeezed her hand and said, "No, it wasn't, but when all is said and done, I don't think that was really your fault. I think I'd like a chance to start again." She paused, shaking her head as though to clear it. She said, "Now, we have a wedding to get to, so let's get these earrings on you and get out there. I assume you and Emily have the 'new' and the 'blue' covered?"

"Yes, of course we do," Emily laughed. "As soon as we get this garter on Skye, we'll be good to go."

XXXXXXXXXXXX

Sam couldn't believe Jerry had talked her into this. Just last night, he had humiliated her in front of the entire Quartermaine and Jax clans, and now here she was, watching the wedding she had wanted for herself. There was a bitter taste in her mouth as she watched the bride, gorgeous and elegant in white silk, stroll down the aisle toward the man she herself had planned to marry. As she watched him gaze back at Skye, as though there were no one else in the room, she finally acknowledged that from the moment Jax and Skye had first laid eyes on each other, her own plans had been doomed to failure. If she had been half as smart as she had always believed herself to be, she would have cut her losses then and there. Now, she decided, it was time to make a new plan.

Last night, once the doctor had assured her that everything was fine with her pregnancy and left her alone, she had begun thinking about Jerry's proposition. She had gone back and forth about whether to agree to it or not. On the one hand, she didn't like or trust him and she wanted to be as far away from him as she possibly could. And if she was honest with herself, it would be easier if she didn't have to be constantly confronted with Skye and Jax's happy infatuation.

At the moment, as she considered the pros and cons again, she half-listened to Jax and Skye reciting their vows. The glow around them made her feel sick to her stomach, and she put a hand to her abdomen and took and released a deep breath to try to settle it back down. Jerry leaned over and whispered, "Are you feeling all right, darling?"

"I'm fine," she replied tersely, and returned to her internal debate.

As much as she wanted to disappear, Jerry's little stunt last night had left her with nowhere to go. She was alone and pregnant, and in the dark of the night, she had finally admitted to herself that she was terrified. She was in no position to take care of herself, let alone a baby. And now that there was no chance of marrying Jax, she realized there would be decisions to be made about the baby. Maybe she could still have an abortion. Or maybe adoption would be a better choice.

That wouldn't solve the issue of why Corinthos-Morgan was investigating her, however. As she had considered what to do about Jerry and his plan, she had also tried to figure out what she had done to attract the interest of the Port Charles mob. Try as she might, however, she couldn't figure out why they would be investigating her. The thought of what they might want with her brought out all her most basic survival instincts.

Which brought her back to Jerry's offer. Whatever else Jerry was, he was certainly well-connected. He would be in a position to protect her, if it turned out that Corinthos-Morgan wished her harm. And now that she was no longer a threat to his beloved brother's happiness, maybe they could become … friends of a sort, she supposed.

Even if he had as-yet-unknown ulterior motives, his protection could buy her some time to come up with her own plan. Abortion, adoption, finding another sucker to marry her and raise her kid … she had options.

Of course she did.

And as she heard the minister declare Skye and Jax husband and wife, and watched them share their first kiss, and continued to think about her options, she began to wonder for the first time about the biological father of her unborn baby.

Maybe there was something to be gained there …


	28. Chapter 27

_A/N: Here it is ... the long-awaited conversation Enjoy!_

**Chapter 27**

**Bloomington**

Elizabeth settled into the front passenger seat of the SUV and frowned at Jason, who was climbing into the driver's seat. From the back seat, she heard Maxie complain, "Ow! Spinelli, be careful where you're sticking that elbow!"

Spinelli sputtered out an apology, while Johnny's teasing voice replied, "Well, sweetheart, you could just move a little closer over here – I have plenty of room on my side."

Elizabeth rolled her eyes, since Johnny was both taller and more muscular than Spinelli, and therefore should have less room rather than more. By Maxie's reply, however, she deduced that this was simply the latest salvo in what looked to her like an odd flirtation. "Well, maybe if you could just lift this arm like this …" Elizabeth glanced back at them and saw that Maxie had moved Johnny's right arm to the seat behind her and was now snuggling as close to his side as her seatbelt allowed.

She sighed and returned her attention to Jason, who was pulling away from the curb near the Tibetan restaurant they had tried. Elizabeth had loved the exotic spiciness of the food, which was quite unlike anything she had tasted before. Jason had sworn it was fine, but she suspected he was really wishing she had chosen a steakhouse or something. Maxie had been skeptical at first, but had later declared it was her new favorite kind of food, and she sure hoped Port Charles had a Tibetan restaurant. Johnny and Spinelli had seemed to like it, as well, but then, Johnny was so laid back that he would probably like anything at all. And Spinelli was always hungry; she suspected he would eat pretty much anything. Otherwise, how could anyone account for his peculiar affinity for barbecue chips and orange soda?

She had tried again to get Jason to talk about what they were doing in Bloomington, but he said, "Eat your dinner. I'll tell you about it later."

Now, she said, "What excuse are you gonna give me now for not telling me what we're doing here?"

"What do you mean?"

Elizabeth rolled her eyes again. "You keep putting me off when I ask you about what we're doing here, and where you and Spinelli keep disappearing to, so I was just curious what excuse you're gonna give me now that we're done eating." She noted absently that Maxie was alternately flirting with Johnny and bickering with Spinelli in the back seat.

Jason sighed. "Look, it's just … it's complicated. And it's personal. I just didn't want to talk about it in a public place. If you can wait a few more minutes, we can drop the rest of the crew off and go for a drive, and I'll tell you whatever you want to know."

She looked skeptical, but said, "Okay." She paused, then said, "If it's really personal, I can see why you wouldn't want to tell me. You can just tell me to butt out, you know."

His lip quirked up, and his tone was amused. "Yeah, like you're really gonna let it go."

She replied primly, "Hey, I don't want to pry. I know you hardly know me."

He laughed outright at that, startling the backseat occupants into silence. "Elizabeth, I have enough women in my life that I know one thing for sure: you will never let this rest until your curiosity is satisfied. And I really don't mind telling you – after we drop everyone else off." He pulled up in front of the hotel and turned to Johnny. "Elizabeth and I are going for a drive. You and Maxie can stay here or go out, your choice. Spinelli, get whatever you need for tonight and come right back. We'll drop you at the campus."

**Port Charles**

At the reception, Sam absently followed Jerry's expert lead on the dance floor as she once again debated what to do. He tried several times to make small talk, but finally lapsed into silence and appeared to focus on dancing. After several long moments, Sam realized he was watching her, waiting for her to speak. She gathered her thoughts for another minute, took a deep breath, and said, "If I were to agree to your proposition …" She stopped, not sure what she wanted to ask him, uncertain what she needed to hear in order to make her decision.

After another short silence, during which one dance ended and another began, he prompted, "If you were to agree to my proposition …"

She said in a resigned tone, "I just don't know, Jerry. I don't trust you, but I don't know what options I have." A note of bitterness crept in as she continued, "I have nowhere to go and no one to turn to."

"Well, darling, now that Jax is safely married to Skye, you really have nothing to fear from me. Strangely enough, with all that's been said and done, I've discovered I'm rather fond of you. And as you say, you really don't have many options at this point."

She digested that. Eventually, she said firmly, "If I agree to this, we're equal partners. And there's more to it than whatever Corinthos-Morgan wants with me."

He narrowed his eyes. "What more?"

She said, "I already called the doctor and he says it's too late for me to have an abortion." The change of topic caught Jerry off guard and he missed a step, then recovered quickly. She saw she had his full attention as she continued mockingly, "If only you had ruined my plans two weeks ago." She sighed. "Well, I guess it's water under the bridge now. Anyway, I'm sure it won't come as a surprise that I really don't want a baby if it's not going to get me anything else. So I've been thinking about what to do with it, and I've come up with two possibilities."

When she paused again, he prompted, "I'm all ears, darling. What possibilities have you come up with?"

"Well, I could put the baby up for a private adoption. I'm sure there's some couple out there who would pay for me to have the best possible care while I'm pregnant in exchange for a baby of their own." Her voice again held a mocking undertone. She would never understand why anyone wanted to tie themselves down with a kid. She looked at him to see if he understood that she really meant she would sell the baby to the highest bidder.

If he did, he didn't comment, instead asking simply, "And the other option?"

"Well," she said, "Depending on who the biological father is, if he could offer me a comfortable life, I could use the baby to …" she paused, not sure how to say it without making herself sound like a completely amoral whore.

"To develop a connection with him?" Jerry supplied helpfully.

"Yes, exactly." For the first time ever, Sam offered him a genuine smile, relieved that he hadn't taken such an easy opportunity to insult her.

"So, you'd like me to use my connections to help you figure out who the biological father is and whether you have a chance of developing the sort of relationship you want with him, or, failing that, to assist you in placing the child in a happy, healthy, wealthy home. And of course, to determine what Corinthos-Morgan wants with you and protect you as needed from them." He appeared to consider this for several moments.

Finally, he spoke again. "Well, darling, I'm potentially willing to assist you with that. But since we're negotiating, and you're adding rather substantially to the list of things I'm doing for you, I think it only fair and reasonable that you do more for me."

She looked at him suspiciously. "More? As in how much more? I already agreed to equal shares."

"Yes, you did, darling. Equal shares of whatever you get from Corinthos-Morgan, if you get anything, and presumably equal shares of whatever you get associated with the baby's potential adoption." He raised a questioning brow and she nodded. "But darling, if you develop a relationship with the baby's biological father, I have a feeling I would be, shall we say, left out in the cold, and that is unacceptable."

She looked away. She had hoped he wouldn't notice that loophole in their partnership. She said, "I don't have any money to give you, at least, not until the relationship is established."

He leaned over and whispered into her ear, "Darling, money isn't the only currency you have to bargain with."

Her head shot up so she could look him in the eye as she nearly shrieked, "You – you want me to _sleep _with you?" And then she realized that he had managed to humiliate her yet again – the music had stopped and her shocked question echoed in the now-silent room.

She could feel herself turning ten shades of red as all eyes turned toward her, and she nearly growled at him in her embarrassment as she heard whispers and titters all around her.

Her eyes stayed locked with his for a moment longer, then she tried to turn away, so she could leave him standing alone on the dance floor. He anticipated her, however, and tightening his grip on her hand and her waist, he pulled her inexorably closer. All she could do was watch, helpless to resist, as his lips came down on hers.

She didn't even notice when the music resumed.

XXXXXXXXXXX

Skye watched in amazement as Jerry kissed Samantha McCall in the middle of the dance floor at her wedding reception. For all that Sam had sounded shocked that Jerry wanted to sleep with her, she didn't appear to be objecting to his kiss.

Skye had been surprised that the woman had even shown up after last night, and now she and Jerry were making quite a spectacle of themselves. She resisted the urge to call out a suggestion that they get a room. The way it looked now, the suggestion would be unnecessary, anyway. They were clearly going to be looking for privacy any minute.

At least, she hoped Jerry had the sense not to start pulling off the slut's clothes in the middle of the dance floor.

Jax came over to join her, handing her a club soda, and as she watched the pair devour each other, she wondered aloud, "What on earth is Jerry thinking? He knows very well that she's a manipulative slut! Do you think she's trying to get her hooks into him now that she can't have you?"

Jax laughed, unconcerned. "Jerry can take care of himself, darling."

"I know, but Jax, what is he _doing_? He doesn't even like her."

Jax shrugged, pointing out, "He doesn't have to like her to sleep with her." He changed the subject. "Now, when is my beautiful wife going to dance with me?"

She smiled back at him, allowing him to distract her from her concern for her new brother-in-law, who had been so instrumental in her newfound happiness. "Just as soon as you ask me." She looked at him severely, adding, "As long as we dance far away from _that woman_."

He laughed and took her hand, pulling her with him to the opposite side of the dance floor, just as Jerry began backing Sam toward the door.

**Bloomington**

After they dropped Spinelli off, Jason was quiet for a while, trying to decide how best to explain to Elizabeth what he was doing in Bloomington. More importantly, he had to figure out exactly how much to tell her. He was tempted to tell her everything, but he was concerned that if she felt too overwhelmed, she would run.

He was a little surprised that she didn't immediately ask him again what he was doing there. But she simply sat quietly, watching as much as she could see of the scenery in the darkness. Finally, she asked curiously, "Are we going somewhere in particular, or are we just driving around aimlessly?"

He looked around, and realized for the first time that he was actually heading somewhere in particular. He debated whether it was a good idea to go there, then decided it would make it easier to open the conversation. He answered, "We're going somewhere in particular."

Her voice still merely curious, she asked, "Am I allowed to know where?"

He smiled and replied, "We're almost there, and it's part of my explanation of what we're doing here, so I'd rather wait, if you don't mind too much."

"Okay," she answered agreeably. A companionable silence fell between them once more, and a few minutes later, he pulled the car to a stop in a familiar location.

She looked around curiously for a moment, then said, her tone humorous, "Okay, I give up. Why are we hanging out in the 'burbs?"

He said, "This is where I've spent the majority of my time away from you over the last few days. The rest of it was in that building where we dropped off Spinelli." He paused, trying to decide what to say next. He looked at the Walker house, absently noting that once again, lights were on downstairs, but the upstairs was dark and quiet.

He must have been silent too long, because she eventually said, "I hope that's not all you're going to say, Jason, because I have no idea what you're trying to tell me."

He looked back at her and began again, "The family that lives there," he nodded toward the Walker house, "I've been … watching them."

"Watching them?" Her voice held no censure or judgment, just curiosity. "Why have you been watching them?"

He sighed. "It's complicated." He paused, trying to figure out how to explain – how to make it all make sense to her, when it didn't even completely make sense to him.

This time, she didn't ask anything more, just watched him as he stared again at the house. Finally, he asked, "Has Emily told you anything about my history?"

"Your history? No, I don't think so. Someone mentioned that you don't get along with your brother, but that's it."

He said, "Well, for this to make sense, I have to start with some of my history, so bear with me." He gave her a small smile and said, "It's kind of a long story, so you might as well get comfortable."

She smiled and said, "I'm comfortable, and we have as much time as you want, so just tell me whatever you want."

He sighed again and said, "Did you ever wonder why Emily's maiden name is Quartermaine, and my last name is Morgan?"

"Well, yeah," she said, "But I think I remember that Emily was adopted, so I figured it was because of that, or maybe that you were half-siblings or something. But she thinks of you as her brother…"

"I can see where you'd think that, but that's not it. I was born and raised Jason Quartermaine."

He felt rather than saw her surprise, then she asked, "Does the name change have something to do with your problems with your brother?"

He answered, "Yes and no. It's really about problems with the entire Quartermaine clan, not just AJ. Except for Emily and, before she died, my grandmother, Lila. But I guess it would be fair to say AJ was the catalyst." He paused, and when she said nothing, he continued. "Let me start by telling you that I don't have any personal memory of a lot of this – it's all stuff that various members of the Quartermaine family have told me in the last several years." She looked puzzled at that, but he said, "Bear with me for a few minutes – it would help if I could just tell you and then you can ask me what you want to know, okay?" She nodded, and he continued, "Jason Quartermaine, from what I can gather, was the pride and joy of the Quartermaine family. He was smart and kind and generous and popular and – refined, I guess. And he followed in his parents' footsteps – both of them are doctors – and he went to medical school in Los Angeles. To hear them tell it, everything Jason touched turned to gold."

He shook his head, continuing quietly, "But AJ – AJ was, from what I hear, and from what I've seen in the last few years, a different story. He was the family black sheep, the screwup. He wanted to go into the family business – to follow in his grandfather's footsteps and have money and power and _more _money and _more _power. But he kept screwing it up, and he – I'm told he had this weird love-hate-admire-envy thing going with his little brother Jason. Right up until the Christmas vacation five years ago when Jason came home and got into the car with AJ, who had been drinking." She gasped, and reached for his hand, to offer him comfort, he supposed. Although the memories weren't really his, and the problems with his family bothered him less than they used to, he liked the feel of her hand on his, so instead of pulling away, he turned his hand over and twined his fingers with hers. He absently noted that in the darkness, he couldn't tell which fingers were his, and which were hers.

He stared at their intertwined fingers as he continued. "Anyway, the accident put him in a coma for a while, and when he woke up, they discovered the accident had wiped out all of Jason Quartermaine's memories and, I'm told, changed his personality. He stopped being the happy-go-lucky guy who did what his family expected. He wasn't interested in doing the things they wanted him to do, and he couldn't be the person they wanted him to be. Suddenly, he was – _I _was this person they couldn't understand and didn't want to know. So I changed my name and disowned the whole family, except for Emily and Lila, and lately Monica, and created the life I wanted as Jason Morgan."

She asked, "Monica?"

He clarified, "Monica Quartermaine, my … mother." He said no more, and she didn't push.

After a short silence, she squeezed his hand and said, "Thank you for telling me all that." She paused, and he had the sense she was deliberately trying to lighten the mood when she added, "And for the record, even if you _are _kind of an overprotective pain sometimes, I _like _Jason Morgan. I like him a lot."

He smiled at her as he squeezed her hand gently. "Well, even if you _are _a stubborn brat sometimes, I like you, too."

She said, "Not to point out the obvious, but I'm still not clear on what that has to do with your business in Bloomington …"

He gave a short laugh and said lightly, "I'm getting the sense that patience isn't your strong suit, Ms. Webber." She grinned at him and shrugged.

"Patience is overrated."

He rolled his eyes and said, "Okay, here's the thing. Apparently, Jason Quartermaine wasn't quite as perfect as his family thought."

Elizabeth interjected, "Oh, good, because frankly, he was sounding like kind of a stuck-up bore."

He laughed aloud. "Do you want to hear this, or not?"

"Okay, I'll be quiet now, I promise."

"Sure you will," he teased. "Well, it turns out that Quartermaine couldn't afford the lifestyle he wanted while he was in medical school, so he was selling his sperm to finance his apartment and his car and God-knows-what-else."

"Really? That sounds awfully … rebellious of him."

"Yeah, I guess. And I had no memory of it when I woke up, and of course, the family didn't know, and no one who _did _know thought to mention it … until my mother gave me a letter that came to the house from the sperm bank. It turns out, the people who live in that house," he nodded toward the house across the street, "had a little girl using Quartermaine's sperm, and now she's sick. They need a bone marrow donor for her and they didn't find a match in her family. So they wrote to him – to me, I guess."

Her eyes filled with sympathy and she turned in her seat to face him more fully, bringing her free hand to cover their still-entwined fingers. She exclaimed, "Oh, Jason, that must be so difficult for you! So you're here to … what? See how she's doing? Have you introduced yourself?"

"No, I haven't. I don't want to upset them, or her. But yeah, I just needed to see for myself how she's doing, you know?"

"Well, yeah, of course you did. This must have come as such a shock to you. Did you get tested to see if you're a bone marrow match?"

"Yeah, it was a shock. And yeah, I got tested, but unfortunately, I'm not a match. So while I'm here, Monica and Emily and my friend Brenda are arranging a bone marrow drive back in Port Charles, so that we can get the rest of the Quartermaines tested without having to tell them that I have a biological child." She looked like she was about to comment on that, but he squeezed her hand. "The men of the family are a bunch of jackals. I don't want them to know she exists. If they did, they wouldn't be able to resist screwing around in her life, and I won't have that. She's happy and safe and secure with her family, and I won't let them mess that up."

She sighed and said, "Well, you know them better than I do, so I'll take your word for it." She paused. "There's one thing I don't understand, though."

"What's that?"

"If you're here to make sure that your … daughter, I guess … is happy and safe and secure, then what is Spinelli doing?"


	29. Chapter 28

_A/N: I apologize profusely for the long delay in updating this fic. The muse just absolutely refused to cooperate with me. But I seem to be back on track, so I think it's safe to say it won't be another six months before the next update. Thanks for your patience, and for your nudging! And you should know that usually, feedback feeds the muse …LOL_

**Chapter 28**

**Bloomington**

Jason stared at Elizabeth, unsure what to say. Everything he had told her about until now had been completely legal, even if he sometimes wondered if he was doing the right thing watching the house and not making contact with the family. But Spinelli's role was far more complicated, and far less legal.

He asked cautiously, "Has Spinelli told you what he does for me?"

"No," Elizabeth answered, her voice disgruntled, although she didn't remove her hand from his, leading him to believe she wasn't actually that upset about it. "Neither he nor Johnny will tell me _anything_ except, 'ask Jason,' or 'whatever Jason asks me to do.'" She gave him a narrow look, adding, "So I sincerely hope you aren't about to say 'ask Spinelli' or anything like that."

He gave her his most charming grin. "Well, it would be easier for me, since I don't understand half of what he does."

"Jason! Come on!"

"Seriously, I don't," he protested, and his tone sobered as he explained. "The kid is a computer genius, and he runs all my tech support whenever I need it. Most of the time, he starts to explain what he did, and I have to tell him to speak English because no matter how much he explains, I'm never gonna know what he's talking about."

"Well, who would?" she agreed softly. She settled deeper into her seat, but she still kept her hold on his hand. "He does have a unique way with words, doesn't he?"

"Yeah, he does." He paused, trying to figure out the best way to put the rest of it so that it wouldn't sound quite so illegal. Finally, he said, "Look, basically he's watching a building, just like I am."

"What building is he watching?" Her voice was starting to sound a little sleepy, and he looked at her to see that her eyelids were drooping.

"The one across from the building he's in. Elizabeth, it's getting late and you look like you're falling asleep. Why don't we talk about this tomorrow?"

Her eyes opened wider, and she insisted, "No, I'm awake. I'm fine. But why is he watching _that_ building, Jason?"

He sighed. After a moment, he said, "This is where it gets complicated again, so I'll explain, but it can't go past you and me." She nodded casually, eyelids drooping again, so he emphasized, "I mean it, Elizabeth. Spinelli could get into a lot of trouble if the wrong people find out about this, and I won't have him suffer because he's loyal to me. That means you can't talk to anyone about this, especially Maxie." She opened her mouth, probably to defend the other woman, but he forestalled her, "Her father is a cop, Elizabeth. I can't take a chance that she'll tell him."

"He's a _Seattle_ cop, Jason. He can't arrest Spinelli for what you're doing here." Her eyes, which were nearly closed, popped wide once more. "Ohhhhhh, whatever he's doing here was similar to what he did in Seattle."

"Yeah," he agreed. "It is."

"Okay," she said, sounding sleepy once more, eyes relaxing yet again. "I won't tell Maxie anything, I promise."

Amusing as it was to watch her try to fight sleep, he attempted again to get her to let the conversation wait until tomorrow. "Elizabeth, you're falling asleep. Why don't we pick this up tomorrow?"

"No, no, I'm fine," she insisted again, still sounding half-asleep, with her head leaning limply against the headrest as she looked at him through slitted eyelids. "Continue."

He looked away, staring out the window at the house across the street. He couldn't bring himself to look at her while he talked about this. Now that she had made the connection that they were doing similar things here to what they had done in Seattle, he was a little worried at how she might react to what he was about to say. He said quietly, "Spinelli is watching that building because the fertility clinic that they used is in there." He paused, but she didn't respond, so he continued, "They have a second child, and I don't know if they used the same donor or not. I really need to know, so …" He paused, deciding how much to admit. After a moment, when she didn't answer, he said quietly, "And I know it's not really fair to the family, but I'm uncomfortable with the idea of more children from the sperm donations Jason Quartermaine made. So, Spinelli's figuring out the security system so that we can find out whether they have any more unused samples." She still said nothing; he supposed he had shocked her into silence, but he wasn't quite ready to see the look on her face, so he said quietly, "If they do, we'll destroy them. I know it's not fair to the Walkers, but I just … have to."

She murmured something and shifted, and he finally risked a look at her, only to find that all his worry was for nothing.

She sat with her head leaning sideways against the headrest, sound asleep.

Smiling slightly at her stubbornness, he started the engine and turned the SUV back toward the hotel

**Port Charles**

Sam stretched languidly. Of all the possible ways she had considered in which this night might end, _this_ hadn't even entered her mind. She glanced at Jerry beside her, to find him watching her speculatively in the dark.

"What?" she asked.

"I was just wondering what's going through that devious little mind of yours," he replied.

She stiffened slightly, unsure if she should take offense. But his tone had been languid, so she forced herself to relax again before answering him. "As it happens, nothing devious at all," she said. "I was actually thinking that if anyone had told me a couple of hours ago that I'd be in bed with you, I would have laughed in their face."

"Well, you certainly seemed happy enough about it a few minutes ago," Jerry said suggestively. "Or are you a better actress than I've been giving you credit for?"

She continued to keep her tone light, because she really didn't feel like fighting with him again just yet. "Well, Jerry, I gotta hand it to you, your treatment of me in bed has so far been much better than it was out of bed. I was sort of expecting a quick bang, that wouldn't be fun for me, but really, that was the best I've had in quite a while."

"Really?" he asked skeptically. "I assume you've been faithful to Jax, since you were trying to pass off the baby as his…" His voice asked the question that his words didn't.

"Jax was fine," she said. "It was really fine with him. But he was always really polite, you know?" Sam couldn't believe she was telling Jerry this, but she couldn't seem to stop the words. "You, on the other hand, are pretty … well, wild. And sometimes a woman just wants a good fuck. I just didn't expect it from _you_."

He laughed at her suddenly disgruntled tone. "Wishing you'd given me a try before now?" he guessed.

"Well, glad I didn't miss the experience entirely," she temporized. "Anyway, I hear the second trimester makes a woman horny, so maybe that's it. I'm a couple weeks into month four now, you know."

"Really?" Jerry asked. "I didn't look that closely at the records. But darling, I doubt it's just the hormones. We've always had chemistry, even when we were at odds." He paused and looked at her consideringly. "Now, shall I take it that our activities of the past 45 minutes have cemented our deal? Keeping in mind, of course, that I'll be more than happy to help you out with your horniness for the next few months as an additional term of our deal."

"Yes, Jerry, we have a deal," Sam said simply. "How are we going to figure out who the biological father is? And what about the Corinthos-Morgan thing? How will you find out what they want with me?"

Jerry rolled on top of her and said, "Patience, darling. I've been working on the latter question for several days already, and as for the former," he ran a hand over her breast suggestively, "it can wait 'til morning, don't you think?" He didn't give her a chance to answer, and really, she found that she didn't mind all that much. Tomorrow would be soon enough.

**The Island**

AJ stepped off Sonny's plane and was glad he had dressed casually in a polo shirt and khaki slacks as a wave of heat met him. At least this place would be a pleasant environment in which to hash things out with his bride.

He followed a waiting bodyguard to the car, and attempted to make small talk with the man as they drove to the house. The man didn't say much, but AJ discovered that the man was named Tony and he had been with the organization for just a few months. He had been part of Courtney's guard detail since her arrival at the island, and when pressed, all he would say was, "She doesn't seem too happy for a new bride."

AJ digested that for a moment. Finally, he said, "The circumstances of our marriage weren't ideal, but I'm here to get things back on the right track."

Tony merely nodded.

XXXXXXXXXX

Courtney paced her room, waiting for AJ to arrive. She was determined to drive AJ to violence, so that she could escape this farce of a marriage and get her revenge on everyone who had tried to ruin her life. No one was going to keep her from her life with Jason. It was her destiny, even if he didn't see it yet.

Tommy knocked on the open door and walked in. "Tony's on his way with Mr. Quartermaine. They should be here in about 15 minutes. Is there anything you need?"

She let a fleeting expression of fear cross her face, then pretended to suppress it for his benefit. "Just promise you won't go too far away, okay? I don't know what kind of mood he'll be in, and if he's been drinking …" She shuddered delicately and let her voice trail off. "I wish …"

"What?" he asked urgently. "What can I do to help you? I won't let him hurt you, I promise."

"Could you …" again, she let her voice trail off, before deliberately strengthening it as she asked in a rush, "I know it's not fair of me to ask, but could you just hold me for a minute before they get here?" He looked startled by her request, then uncomfortable. _Damn,_ she thought, _I guess I'm moving too fast. _She continued with a pleading look. "I'm sorry, I know I shouldn't ask that – I don't want to get you in trouble, but it's just … You're the only person I can trust, and I think I would go crazy with fear if you weren't here."

His face softened with sympathy. "I know you've had it rough lately, Mrs. Quartermaine –" Courtney found she didn't have to fake the shudder _that_ name provoked, "– but it just wouldn't be a good idea. What if someone saw us? They might get the wrong idea." Still, he took a few steps closer to her.

She pretended to be embarrassed as she wiped an imaginary tear away. "I know, I'm sorry. I'm just so alone, especially now that my brother turned against me, too. I always counted on him to be on my side, and suddenly he's not."

When he took another step toward her, she knew she had won. She flung herself at him, trusting that he would catch her rather than let her fall. He did catch her, and she smiled to herself as he squeezed her close. Very subtly, she moved so that her body would rub against him, and when she felt his pulse pick up, she knew she would soon be able to get him to do anything she wanted. She sighed against him, biting down on her lip until it brought tears to her eyes, then pressed against his shoulder so he would feel the moisture through his shirt.

Everything was falling into place beautifully now. By the time she got done, Jason would be hers, and Sonny and AJ wouldn't know what hit them.

**Seattle**

Lucky waited impatiently for the computer to find some trace of where Elizabeth had gone. He hadn't seen her or heard from her since that guy, whoever he was, had knocked him down. He still couldn't believe Elizabeth had willing gone with that brute instead of seeing how he was doing.

The computer beeped, and he glanced down to see the same response he had gotten every time he had run the search: "No results found." He was getting frustrated. Despite his best covert efforts, he had found no trace of her – wherever she had gone, she had left no trail. She hadn't bought a bus or plane or train ticket, at least not with a credit card, and he had no idea how she would have gotten enough cash to get out of town any other way.

He had not yet taken the drastic step of putting out an APB, mainly because he hadn't yet figured out how to explain that to Mac. As desperate as he was to find her, he was holding on to enough good sense to realize that the department would frown on his use of police resources to track down a runaway wife.

An idea suddenly hit him, and he changed the search parameters to see if she had taken a cash advance before he had last seen her – his previous searches had been limited to purchases since then. Maybe she had been smart enough to get the cash together as soon as she had left, rather than waiting a day as he had assumed.

_Bingo! _ He was initially pleased when the transactions came up – until he realized three things: first, that this would tell him nothing about where she had gone, since she had very cleverly wired money from their credit card accounts to their bank account and then emptied the bank account, and cash was untraceable; second, that the report seemed to indicate that she had left with more than $25,000; and third, that according to the record, the card wasn't _theirs, _it was _his. _Frowning, he tried to figure out how that error had been made. He was about to call the credit card company to demand an explanation when his phone rang.

Seeing who it was, he sighed and took the call. Before he could say a word, the voice on the other end demanded, "Have you found her yet?"


	30. Chapter 29

_A/N: Thanks for the feedback on the last chapter -- I'm so glad people are still interested in this fic after all this time ... Happy Reading!_

**Chapter 29**

**Bloomington**

Elizabeth stretched languidly as she awoke. She wasn't quite ready to be up yet, so she burrowed back under the covers and tried to go back to sleep. Something was nagging at her mind, though, and eventually, despite her best efforts to ignore it, she was forced to acknowledge the embarrassing fact that she had fallen asleep in the middle of an important conversation with Jason. She groaned and yanked the blanket over her head.

"It's about time you woke up!" Maxie's voice was gratingly cheerful. Elizabeth peeked out with one eye to find her new friend not only fully dressed, but with perfectly coiffed hair. She was leaning toward the mirror, applying eyeliner as she spoke. "I'm starving, but Jason and Spinelli left like two hours ago, and Johnny said we couldn't go get anything 'til you woke up. I suggested room service – I mean, what's the point of hotels if not room service? But Johnny said he'd rather wait for you to wake up before we order anything, and he's being really stubborn about it." Elizabeth could picture Maxie's disgruntled expression even without being able to see it from her angle. "Now that you're awake, we can eat!" She frowned suddenly. "Unless you have morning sickness. I guess you wouldn't want to eat then. But I haven't noticed you feeling sick, so I guess maybe you haven't had that problem."

Elizabeth could barely keep up with Maxie's chatter. When the other woman paused, Elizabeth looked at Maxie, and met an inquiring gaze. She answered Maxie's implied question, "I had a little during the first couple of months, but it's better the last few weeks."

"Oh. Well, good. Then I guess you're probably as hungry as I am by now. What do you want to eat?"

"Um, some scrambled eggs and toast, I guess. And some hot chocolate."

"Okay, I'll tell Johnny while you get up and get yourself together." She headed for the bedroom door, but Elizabeth stopped her before she got there.

"Maxie?"

"Yeah?"

"Do you know – I mean, I was wondering – um, last night …" her voice trailed off.

"Oh," Maxie said after a moment. "You're wondering how you wound up back here and in your pajamas and everything. Well, all I can tell you is Jason carried you in when you guys got back. He said you fell asleep on the drive back and he didn't want to wake you up because you needed your rest. So we brought you in here, and I pulled back the covers and he put you there and took off your coat and shoes. And then when he left, I thought you'd be really uncomfortable sleeping in your bra and stuff, so I found your nightgown and … well, I helped you get changed. Although, you really didn't do much – you were sleeping really soundly, so I just did the best I could."

"Oh. Thanks, Maxie," Elizabeth said. "I appreciate you looking out for me." She was relieved that it had been Maxie, not Jason, who had changed her out of her clothes. It was bad enough that she had fallen asleep on the poor man while he was baring his soul. He didn't need to be taking care of her any more than necessary.

"Anytime," Maxie replied, grinning widely. "That's what best friends are for." She winked and added, "Now, get up and get moving while I order breakfast."

Elizabeth smiled and said, "Yeah, okay. I'll be out shortly."

When the door closed behind Maxie, Elizabeth stretched again and climbed out of bed. As she showered, she thought back over her conversation with Jason last night. Jason's history and family relationships certainly seemed complicated. Although, she realized, she was hardly one to talk, considering her own family's troubled relationships. She had a feeling that, even though she had learned a lot from what Jason had said last night, she had missed the most important stuff when she fell asleep. There were times when being pregnant was a pain in the butt. She smiled as she had the thought. _Not that I would trade it,_ she thought, patting her slightly rounded belly. _There'll be other chances to talk to Jason. _At least, she hoped there would.

XXXXXXXXXXX

Jason and Spinelli sat in their usual spot, quietly discussing their plans to burglarize the clinic. As they spoke, Jason noticed that Spinelli was even more agitated than usual, seemingly unable to concentrate on anything either one of them said. Finally, he had to ask, although he figured the odds were at least even that he would regret it. "Spinelli, what's with you today? How much orange soda did you have? Or have you been hitting the Red Bull again?"

"What? The Jackal has had no more nectar of the gods than usual, and has had none of the magic elixir for alertness since we vacated the City of Angels."

"Then why can't you sit still and focus?" Jason's voice was sharp, which seemed to make Spinelli even more agitated, so he consciously softened his tone before adding, "You might as well just tell me, since there's no way we can get anywhere with this until you do."

Spinelli digested that, looking anxious. After a moment, he said cautiously, "It's just – with all due respect to the Master – the Jackal was wondering if he is certain that this is the course of action he wishes to pursue at this time."

"Why wouldn't I want to do this? This was the whole point of coming to Bloomington!"

"Well," Spinelli said, still sounding cautious, "It occurred to the Jackal while the Master was out with the Maternal One last evening, that until we know for sure that the plan to obtain a certain result that provides a match – a giver of life, if you will – for the Unfortunate Ill One, we might want to avoid taking permanent action to prevent the family of the Unfortunate Ill One from – from conceiving a matching donor themselves …" His voice trailed off as he watched Jason closely.

Jason considered that for a long moment, reviewing Spinelli's words in his mind to confirm that he was getting the younger man's point. Eventually, he said, "So you're thinking maybe we should wait and make sure there's a match for Isabella from the bone marrow drive before we destroy any sperm samples that might be left, in case the Walkers might try to have another child in an effort to obtain a match."

Spinelli beamed. "Exactly."

Jason said, "It's not a bad thought. If we do get a match elsewhere, we could always come back then … And from what I've seen, they look like decent enough people, so I guess I can be okay with them possibly having another kid that's biologically mine … And I would like to get Elizabeth to Port Charles as soon as possible …" Nodding decisively, he said, "Okay, let's go home."

Spinelli jumped up and began gathering his computer equipment. "The Jackal commends the Master on his restraint and wisdom."

Suddenly anxious to get back to the hotel, gather up his assorted traveling companions, and get home to the place where he had the most power and control, he said, "Let's just hurry up and get out of here, okay?"

**Seattle**

Lucky tried to think about how to find Elizabeth. He couldn't believe she had left him like this. And worse, she had taken every penny they had, plus maxed out their credit cards, and somehow, the bank had no record of her ever being liable on those accounts. Sighing, he got up and went to ask Mac if he could take some personal time to try to find Elizabeth and convince her to come home.

As he approached Mac's office, he heard the other man speaking on the phone through the open door. "Okay, honey, even though I'm a little surprised you decided so quickly, I think it's great that you're visiting your sister. Tell Georgie I love her, and call me when you get there… Love you, too, Maxie." He said good-bye and hung up, and Lucky abruptly changed his mind about talking to Mac just yet. He hadn't considered that Elizabeth might be with Maxie – it seemed unlikely, that his wife would go anywhere with his ex-mistress, but on the other hand, Maxie _had_ helped Elizabeth pack, hadn't she? And so had her two friends.

He headed back to his desk to do a little more snooping.

**The Island**

AJ arrived at the house, barely noticing its charm, and wished he could have just a small drink to steady himself before seeing his bride. _Think about the baby,_ he reminded himself, _Gotta stay sober to take care of the baby._

Taking a deep breath, he pushed open the door and called, "Courtney? Are you here?" He dropped his bag in the entryway and waited. Getting no response, he decided to explore the place until she came back from wherever she had gone. Tony had disappeared somewhere – AJ figured he was part of the security detail, so he didn't feel the need to think too deeply about where he was or what he was doing. He wandered through the house, barely registering the layout or the surprisingly low-key décor. He glanced in the kitchen and the living room, then headed toward the bedrooms at the back of the single story house. As he stepped into the hallway, another man came from one of the rooms, closing the door behind him. AJ approached the man, who was looking somewhat hostile, in his opinion, for someone who had never met him before. Nevertheless, he introduced himself. "Excuse me. I just arrived – I'm AJ Quartermaine. Have you seen my wife anywhere?"

"She asked not to be disturbed," the man said, with an edge in his voice.

"Oh, she did, did she?" AJ replied, his voice frosty with all the arrogance he could muster. "And you are?" He raised a brow.

"Tommy."

"Well, Tommy, I didn't ask you what my wife _wants_," AJ said pointedly. "I asked you where she _is_. I assume, since she apparently communicated to you her desire to be alone, that she's in the room you just left." He raised a brow and stared the other man down until he gave a reluctant nod. "Thank you." Dismissing the other man, he brushed past him, knocked once on the door and let himself into the room, shutting it firmly behind him.

**Port Charles**

Jerry got off the phone just as Sam walked back into the room, fresh from her shower. He was surprised to find he rather liked the con woman, after all, now that she was no threat to his brother's happiness. If nothing else, she amused him, and she was a very knowledgeable lover, so he would enjoy spending some time with her while he figured out how best to capitalize on her situation. First things first, however – he needed to know why Corinthos-Morgan was investigating her.

"Well, darling, we should know soon enough why Corinthos-Morgan is so interested in you. My investigators should have an answer for us in a day or two at the latest. They're very good, you know."

"Yes," she said shortly, thinking of how they had supplied Jerry with the ammunition to humiliate her at the rehearsal dinner. "I suppose they are."

"Now, now, darling, don't be upset. We're past all that nastiness now, aren't we?"

She sighed and said, "I suppose we are. Now, how do we go about finding the father of this baby?"

He smiled and said, "Well, my investigators are working on that as well. They'd appreciate it if you would send them whatever information you have about the sperm donor you used. They'll take it from there."

"Well, I don't have much," Sam replied apologetically. "I thought it would be best not to keep that information around in case you investigated me. I can probably dig up the name of the sperm bank, and I would recognize his profile if I saw it, but that's about it."

"That would be very helpful, I'm sure," Jerry said.

"Okay, it was a place in Los Angeles, so I suppose I could google it."

"Okay, let's go get you on a computer, then."

"Right. But I need to eat something first. One of the side effects of being pregnant," Sam said wryly.

"Right. Food first, then computer. I'll order room service while you get dressed."

XXXXXXXXXXX

Emily grabbed one of the posters that the advertising agency had provided. She was pleased with how the publicity was coming along for the bone marrow drive. The posters had been hung around town – hundreds of them, blanketing all the places people congregated most. And on her way over here today, she had heard the first radio ad. The only unfortunate thing was that AJ had left for Sonny's island to spend time with Courtney, and she hadn't come up with a way to ensure that he got tested. She would have to talk with Brenda about that. Maybe Sonny could drag Courtney back here, and then AJ would come too.

She folded the poster in half, then in half again, so it would fit into the large envelope she had brought along. She slid it in the envelope, then added another folded piece of paper. Sealing it, she headed for the hospital mail room, figuring they would be able to tell her how much postage the package required.

Her phone rang as she left the mailroom with assurances that her package would go out with the afternoon mail. Glancing at it, she took the call, "Jason? What's up?"

"Hey, just wanted you to know that we're heading home tomorrow morning."

"Oh, good," she smiled. "I can't wait to meet Elizabeth. How's she doing?"

"She's fine," he replied. "Sleeping a lot, but otherwise fine."

"Oh, well, that's normal," Emily laughed. "Do you need me to do anything before you get here? I just mailed information to the Walkers, so they should have it in a couple of days."

"Oh, good. Thanks. No, I just wanted to let you know, so you won't be surprised when we show up on your doorstep."

"Oh, okay. I'll just see you whenever you get here, then."

"Okay. You haven't heard anything else from her husband, have you?"

"No, not since that one phone call."

"Okay, good. Let me know if he calls again."

"I will. I'll see you tomorrow."

"Yeah, see you then."

Disconnecting the call, Emily went to find her husband.

**Seattle**

As Lucky tried to find out where Maxie might have gone, he tried to remember if she had said the full name of the "friends" who helped Elizabeth move. She had called the guy she had claimed was her new boyfriend "Johnny", but that didn't help because she hadn't mentioned a last name. And the other guy from the street – no one had said his name at all. Nor had he heard the name of the funny-looking guy he had caught a glimpse of at the apartment. So that was a dead-end – which was a shame, since he was pretty sure that guys with attitudes like that _had_ to have a criminal record somewhere.

He began a search to discover where Maxie had last used her credit card. When it turned out that she hadn't used it at all in several days, he figured something had to be wrong. If there was one thing he knew about her, it was that shopping was her passion, and there was no way she would ever go more than a single day without using her credit card.

He tried for several more minutes, but got nothing. Finally, he decided to take a different tack. He would find wherever her sister Georgie was in school, and go track her down there.

His phone rang, and he glanced at it, then took a sharp breath before answering it, not giving the caller a chance to say anything before he spoke. "Look, I told you I'm working on it. I've got a lead, and I'll call you as soon as I find her. In the meantime, you calling all the time is just slowing me down." He listened for a moment, then insisted. "I've got a good idea where to start looking. That's all I can say right now. Now, I have to go." And he hung up quickly, so that nothing more could be said.

When the phone began ringing again immediately, he ignored it.


	31. Chapter 30

_A/N: As always, your feedback inspires the muse! Thanks for the encouragement and the kind words!_

**Chapter 30**

**The Island**

Courtney braced herself as the door opened and her unwanted husband came into the room. She wished she could contain her irritation at the intrusion. She really did, since she wanted AJ to let his guard down, which would make it easier for her to manipulate him. So she was surprised to find that she couldn't keep the bitterness out of her words when she spoke. "What are you doing here, AJ?"

He looked momentarily taken aback at her abrasive tone. "What do you think I'm doing here, Courtney? You're my wife and you're carrying my child. Where else should I be?" She wasn't sure why she was surprised at the mockery in his voice. After all, his tone was really quite similar to the one he had used with her throughout their brief affair.

Under her breath, she muttered, "Anywhere but here would be fine with me."

His look said that he had heard her just fine, but he still asked, "What was that, Courtney? Did you say something?"

"I said considering everything, I was surprised you'd want to be here with me."

He apparently decided to let the blatant lie pass without challenge. She was surprised by his next question. "How are you feeling?"

"Oh, like you care how I'm feeling," she said sarcastically. He simply raised a brow and waited. Eventually, she added tersely, "I'm fine."

"And the baby?"

"Fine," she said. Again, he waited her out. "As far as I know, the stupid baby is fine. Although I don't see why you care."

"Courtney," AJ said with exaggerated patience, "You're carrying my child. Whatever happened between us before needs to be left in the past, for the sake of the baby. He or she does not need to deal with parents who are constantly sniping at each other, and frankly, it can't be good for _you_, either, if we're constantly fighting."

"Oh, so now you want to start fresh and let bygones be bygones, after you've already ruined my life?" Courtney couldn't believe he thought it was that simple.

But obviously, he did. "Look, Courtney, I realize that I didn't treat you all that well before, and I apologize for that. But frankly, you're not in any position to throw stones, considering you were planning to pass off my child as Jason's." He paused, looking like he expected a response, but really, what could she say to that? After another long moment, he added seriously, "None of what we've done before matters in comparison to what the baby needs from us. You must realize that. Don't you?" Apparently, he didn't want an answer to that question, since he continued without pausing. "So I suggest we make a deal. I'll try to forgive you for trying to keep my child from me, and you try to forgive me for treating you badly before."

Courtney snorted. "The problem with that, AJ, is that I don't _want_ to forgive you. I don't want anything to do with you. And I _don't_ want this stupid baby." She glared at him, and couldn't resist goading him. "I want Jason. I love Jason. And Jason loves me." There, that was the one topic that was always guaranteed to make AJ irrationally angry.

But he surprised her by not rising to the bait. He showed no signs of anger at all. Instead, he merely scoffed, "What makes you think Jason loves you? I've seen how Jason is with people he cares about, and I've seen how he is with people who don't matter to him." She must have unconsciously made a gesture of denial, because he said, "Don't shake your head, Courtney. Jason treats you more like the way he treats me and Father and Grandfather than like how he treats Emily, or Brenda, or even Sonny. Based on what I've seen, I'd have to say Jason doesn't care about you even a little bit."

Everything inside her rebelled at that statement. Still, she couldn't suppress a tiny sliver of doubt, even as she denied forcefully, "That's not true. If he thought we were having a baby –"

He didn't even let her finish the thought, but his tone wasn't really unkind when he spoke. "I'm not sure it would make any difference, Courtney, but the fact of the matter is that you're not having a baby with Jason, you're having a baby with me. And I'll do whatever it takes to give my baby the best life I can, which means getting along with you, regardless of our sordid history together."

His continuing patience was driving her crazy. She wanted him to fight with her. She _needed_ him to fight with her – to _yell_ at her, maybe even push her around a little – Tommy was surely still nearby, and she needed _him_ to believe she was really – and _reasonably_ – afraid of her husband – especially since she obviously couldn't stand to be nice to AJ. So she tried another topic that might make him mad enough to yell. "Well, don't trouble yourself, AJ, because I don't want to have this baby, and you can't make me."

His brows drew together. His tone was icy, but _still _he didn't yell. In fact, for the first time ever, he reminded her of Jason. "Make no mistake about it, Courtney, you're having my child whether you like it or not. I will take any steps necessary to ensure my baby's safety, including using the full power and fortune of the Quartermaine family." Her lack of concern for that threat must have shown, because he raised a brow and added, "And in case you've forgotten, your brother is Catholic, so whose side do you think he would take in this matter?"

Courtney realized AJ was right – Sonny would do whatever it took to prevent her getting an abortion. She sputtered. "Are you planning to keep me under lock and key?"

"I hope it doesn't come to that, Courtney, but yes, if you can't be trusted, I'll do exactly that. So you better watch yourself." He turned and headed for the door. "Now, I don't want to fight with you, so I'll go get settled in. While I'm gone, I suggest you consider carefully if you really want a war with me." He turned, and again she saw a hint of resemblance to Jason when he pinned her with his gaze. "Because with my child's future at stake, there's no way you'll win."

**Port Charles**

"Yeah, okay," Brenda heard Sonny say into the phone as she walked into the penthouse. When she moved to give him privacy, he gestured that she could stay. "The pilot had instructions to head back to Indiana after he left AJ on the Island, and they got there a couple of hours ago, so if he's not underway already, I'm sure he will be soon. I expect he'll check in with you when he gets there, but if I hear from him, I'll tell him you're planning to leave in the morning." There was a pause, and then Sonny said, "Okay, we'll see you when you get here. Have a safe trip." Another pause, then, "Yeah, okay, I will. Bye."

When he clicked the phone off, Brenda asked, "Was that Jason?"

"Yeah, he'll be home tomorrow." He held up a hand to forestall her next question. "And before you ask, he said to tell you he'll see you tomorrow and you can pester him with whatever questions you have." She smacked him lightly, but laughed when he added, "Hey, I'm just the messenger here!"

"Yeah, well, you can pass that smack along for me in case you see him first."

He grabbed her loosely around the waist. "So, does this mean I'm forgiven, finally?" She got a wicked glint in her eye, and he groaned. "Okay, let's have it. What new torture do I have to endure to get back on your good side?"

"Nothing big," she stalled. "It's more like the final, finishing touch after the flowers, and the jewelry, and the breakfast, and the donations to charity …"

He dimpled at her. "Just tell me, since you know I'm going to agree to it, whatever it is." He pulled her closer and dropped a kiss on her neck. Unlike the past few times he had tried that, she didn't pull away, but tilted her head to give him better access.

She said, "Well, I think since you owe Jason an apology, too, it would be a really nice gesture for you to host a nice little welcome home dinner for him, don't you? Well, and for Spinelli, and Johnny, too."

He asked wryly, "Is that all?"

"Oh!" she exclaimed. "Maybe we should see if he wants anyone else there – you know, like the woman he's bringing back with him, or Emily, or Monica."

"Monica?" Sonny's voice was doubtful. "Last I heard, he didn't want to be around any Quartermaine except Emily."

"He and Monica have been doing better lately. Ever since –" she stopped midsentence, then said, "Well, never mind that – it's not important, but they're better. Trust me."

"Well, if the Courtney debacle taught me anything, it's that you're a better judge of people than I am," Sonny said firmly. "But 'better' may not mean he's ready to have a family dinner with her."

"Okay, well, I guess you may have a point. I'll ask him and let you know." She slipped out of his arms and pulled out her cell phone. She started to punch up Jason's number, then looked back at him and raised an eyebrow. "And don't think I didn't notice you sucking up to me with that line of bull. There's no way you think I'm really a better judge of character than you." Pointedly ignoring the innocent look he gave her, she added, "Now, you have a menu to plan, don't you?"

He chuckled and headed for the kitchen, tossing back over his shoulder, "I guess I do. But please tell me this is the last hoop I have to jump through."

She flashed him a smile. "I guess that depends on what you're cooking, doesn't it?"

XXXXXXXXXXXXX

Jerry waited impatiently to hear back from his contact at the FBI. Once Sam had identified the donor's profile, and Jerry had seen there was a baby picture, he had decided to call in a favor there rather than leave it solely in the hands of his investigators. He knew it would likely take a while, but patience had never been his strong suit.

Especially when it came to getting information that might be useful.

While he was waiting, he mused, he might as well check in with the private investigator again. Eventually, they would have to figure out why Corinthos-Morgan was investigating Sam – and it wouldn't hurt to emphasize once more that greater speed would yield greater financial rewards.

He was about to pick up the phone, but paused when Sam walked in from the other room. "I hate waiting," she said without preamble, sitting on the edge of the bed.

He laughed aloud at her disgruntled tone. Yet another way in which they were well-matched. "So do I, darling. So do I."

"Well, can't you do anything to speed this up?" She flopped backward dramatically, ending up sprawled across the bed with her knees bent and legs dangling to the floor.

"What would you have me do, darling? I already provided the FBI with the picture from the donor profile you identified. They'll use their simulated aging software to provide us with an approximation of how the man might look now, as an adult. My investigators have been working on the identity as well, and they're also making every effort to determine the nature of Corinthos-Morgan's interest in you." He stood and approached her slowly. "All involved are aware of the financial benefits of speed in their endeavors. What more would you have me do?"

She eyed him as he stalked toward her. "Well," she purred, "the least you can do is distract me while we wait."

He gave her a predatory smile. "It would be my pleasure, Samantha, darling."

**Bloomington**

When Jason let himself and Spinelli into the hotel suite, he was still trying to convince Brenda not to make a big fuss about his homecoming. He absently glanced around the room, surprised to find it empty, as Brenda argued again, "But Jason, you've been gone for weeks! There's nothing remotely edible in your fridge – I checked! And Sonny owes you an apology anyway, after the whole Courtney debacle. So, why not kill two birds with one stone? If Sonny cooks, he gets to apologize, and you get to not worry about dinner on your first night back."

"Brenda, Sonny doesn't have to apologize to me. Courtney is his sister, and he was trying to do right by her. It's not his fault that she lied." Frowning, he tried to figure out where Johnny, Maxie, and Elizabeth might be. "Hang on a sec." Turning to Spinelli, he said, "Call Johnny and find out where they are. Tell him about the change in plans." Spinelli nodded, sputtering a longwinded response that Jason tuned out as he returned his attention to Brenda. "Look, Bren, I don't want Elizabeth to be overwhelmed with too many people at once. Stress isn't good for her. Can't this wait a couple of days?" He idly watched Spinelli go into the other room, hopefully to call Johnny.

"Why would she be overwhelmed?" Brenda asked rationally. "She already knows you, Johnny, and Spinelli, and her friend – Maxie, is it? – which is like half the guest list. And you know Emily will put her at ease in like five seconds. And Sonny is always charming when there's a pregnant lady around, you know that. And we decided not to invite Monica, because it would put her in an awkward position to try to ditch the rest of the Quartermaines. And I can't wait to meet this chick, so she's gonna love me."

"What about her brother, Brenda? They've hardly spoken in years, and they never really got along."

"Well, Jase, she's gonna have to see him anyway, since she's staying with him and Em for a while, and maybe it'll actually be easier for her to have other people around, like buffers, you know?"

Jason thought about that for a moment. Brenda must have suspected he was going to give in, because she was uncharacteristically silent until he said, "Yeah, I suppose you have a point. But please try to keep it low-key, okay?"

"Yeah, okay," Brenda answered, sounding pleased. "Nothing fancy, I promise."

"Okay," Jason conceded. "But I really mean it, Brenda, low-key and informal."

"Yeah, I got it," Brenda insisted. "Now, is there anything in particular that Elizabeth or Maxie likes or doesn't like?"

"I don't know," Jason said tersely. "Obviously, Elizabeth can't have anything that's not good during pregnancy, but other than that … well, actually, she loves chocolate." He paused, then added, "She doesn't seem to be very picky about food, so anything's probably fine. And before you ask again, I have no idea about Maxie's tastes. I'll ask them and get back to you if there's anything in particular."

"Okay. Meanwhile, Sonny's working on a menu, so if he finishes planning before I hear from you, I'll email it to Spinelli."

"Okay," Jason said, as Spinelli came back into the room. "I gotta go. I'll talk to you later." After Brenda said good-bye and disconnected the call, he asked the younger man. "Did you talk to Johnny?"

"Yeah. I guess the Maternal One found out that the local institution of higher learning has a repository of artistic wonders. The fearsome threesome have spent the afternoon examining all manner of artistic renderings. The Jackal informed the Protector of the Night that the journey to our seat of power will resume on the morrow. The Protector vowed to escort the lovely ones back to the temporary lodging forthwith."

"Okay, good," Jason said. "I assume you don't have much packing to do?"

"The Jackal's personal possessions remain ready to be moved at a moment's notice."

"Okay, then why don't you figure out some options for dinner tonight? And let the desk know that we'll be checking out in the morning."

"As the Master wishes," Spinelli replied. "What else may the Jackal do to be of assistance?"

"If I think of anything, I'll let you know." He thought for a minute. "I think I'm gonna head down to the hotel gym for a while. If they get back before I do, try to get them to decide on dinner, okay?"

"As always, the Jackal is at the Master's service."

Jason nodded and hurriedly changed into workout clothes and headed for the gym.

XXXXXXXXXXX

Elizabeth smiled to herself at Johnny and Maxie's bickering. She wasn't listening very closely, but it sounded like Maxie was trying to get Johnny to tell her what the three men actually did for a living, and Johnny was giving her increasingly outlandish answers. Rather than interrupting Johnny's insistence that he was actually a Greenpeace whale guardian to ask him for the key card, she knocked on the door to their hotel suite. She figured it would be quicker this way, and she really, really wanted to sit down and put her feet up. After their room service breakfast, Maxie had dragged them to several more shops, but then after lunch at a local Chinese restaurant, they had wandered past the Indiana University Art Museum, and Elizabeth had refused to go anywhere else until she had a chance to explore. Spinelli had called Johnny just as they were finishing up there, so they had returned to the hotel from there.

Now, she just wanted to sit and relax and do nothing. She waited patiently, continuing to ignore her friends until Spinelli opened the door at last, saying, "Fair Maternal One! And the Blonde One and the Protector of the Night!" He stepped back with an attempt at a courtly flair that somehow managed to simply look awkward.

She said, "Hi, Spinelli," and headed straight for the sofa. She immediately put her feet up on the coffee table and sighed with pleasure. She idly noticed that Maxie and Johnny remained focused on each other as they entered the room, not even pausing to greet poor Spinelli, who was looking at Maxie with a lost puppy dog expression. Partly to distract him and partly because she wanted to know, she asked, "Where's Jason?"

Shaking his head as though to clear it, he looked at her and said, "The Master has gone to the physical fitness facility to improve his conditioning. In his absence, the Jackal is charged with ascertaining where our most fair traveling companions wish to dine this evening." He paused, then inquired hopefully, "Does the Fair Maternal One have a preference for the type of sustenance she would prefer to partake of tonight?"

"Oh, Spinelli, I can't think about that right now. I just want to sit here and do nothing for a while. We can decide about dinner later." She smiled at him, thinking it was amazing how quickly she had learned to interpret his bizarre use of language. She hardly even had to think about it anymore. He was really a sweet boy, and he was certainly devoted to Jason.

He also seemed eager to please Elizabeth herself lately. He asked helpfully, "Does the Fair Maternal One wish to absorb information from the now-digital airwaves? Or perhaps the Jackal could assist her in finding an audio channel to listen to if she would rather not watch? Or, if the Maternal One prefers it, the Jackal could almost certainly find the old-fashioned printed word somewhere around here."

His eyes darted around the room, but Elizabeth laughed and said, "No, Spinelli, I just want to _be_ for a few minutes. Maybe I should go lie down for a bit – those two aren't going to stop anytime soon, I don't think." Johnny was now stating emphatically that he was an undercover CIA operative, investigating the possibility that the blonde daughter of the Seattle police commissioner might actually be an al-Quaeda operative in disguise. Sighing, Elizabeth got to her feet and headed for the bedroom. "You guys decide about dinner, okay? Whatever you want is fine with me." She gave him one last smile as she closed the door behind her.

Twenty minutes later, she was feeling relaxed and comfortable, drifting hazily between sleep and wakefulness, when she heard the outer door to the suite close and then she heard Jason's voice interrupt the murmur of Maxie and Johnny's ongoing discussion. She relaxed even more deeply – somehow, when he was around, she always seemed to relax just a little bit more than when he wasn't. As Spinelli's voice answered, she debated whether to get up and see what was going on, but really, she just wanted to be lazy for a while longer.

After a few more minutes passed, there was a soft tap on the door. Jason poked his head in and whispered, "Elizabeth? Are you awake?"

She opened her eyes a bit and smiled lazily at him as she stretched languidly, "Mmmmm, sort of." Her gaze swept over him casually, taking in his sweaty workout attire and the muscles that bulged everywhere. With the curtains mostly drawn, the room was dim, lending an air of intimacy that kept her voice soft. To her surprise, she felt a wave of heat roll over her, starting low in her belly. She couldn't remember the last time she had been so aware of a man. Stunned, and suddenly wide-eyed, she fell silent and stopped mid-stretch, staring at him.

"Are you feeling all right?" He stepped into the room, closing the door behind him, concern ringing in his soft voice. "Is it the baby?" He came and sat on the edge of the bed.

For a moment, she couldn't speak – was having trouble breathing, even. Then somehow, she found her voice, and she could only hope that he would attribute its huskiness to lingering sleepiness rather than the sudden attraction that was almost overwhelming her. "No, everything's fine. I'm just a little tired. I probably overdid it a bit today between the shopping and the museum." She was babbling, but she couldn't help it; she was suddenly so on edge that words spilled out of her mouth, picking up speed as she continued. She was half-afraid that if she stopped talking, she would jump him. She could feel herself blushing as she continued, and was suddenly thankful that the lights were still off. "Johnny said something about leaving tomorrow, so I guess that means your business is done, right?" Another thought hit her and embarrassment supplanted desire so fast she wondered if she had imagined the desire in the first place. "Ohmigod, Jason, I fell asleep on you last night, didn't I? I'm so sorry! There you were, telling me all this personal stuff, and I couldn't even stay awake. How rude of me, and I wouldn't blame you if you never wanted to talk to me again!" She couldn't make out his expression, really, but Jason stopped her rambling by taking her hand.

And just like that, the desire swept back over her. She forced herself to take a deep breath, which turned out to be a mistake, because even sweaty from his workout, there was something really delicious about the way Jason smelled. She almost moaned at the force of her desire.

He apparently didn't notice, though, or if he did, he must have thought it was embarrassment, because his voice remained gentle as he said, "Elizabeth, it's fine. You were tired, and you obviously needed the rest. You barely even stirred when we got back here." He stroked the back of her hand, which she guessed was supposed to be soothing, but it really was just making her more turned on by the minute. He added, "You need to listen to your body – it seems to be telling you to get more rest."

She had to get him out of there before she did something stupid. He was her sister-in-law's brother, for God's sake – he thought of her as part of the family. And even if that wasn't an issue, she was still married. Not to mention pregnant.

Pulling her hand away, she sat up abruptly, "Well, in that case," she said, "We should go eat, 'cause my body is saying 'feed me'."

He laughed and stood, "Well, then, let's go eat."

She was relieved when he opened the door, releasing the spell she must have been under since he walked into the room. Sighing, she preceded him into the other room, as the last remnants of desire faded. She asked brightly, "So, have we figured out what we're having for dinner? 'Cause I'm starving." As the room erupted in voices, she took a deep breath and thanked her lucky stars that Jason hadn't noticed anything amiss.

If he ever found out that she had been having impure thoughts about him, she would certainly die of embarrassment.


	32. Chapter 31

_A/N: Calicat asked last chapter if Courtney realizes that Jason knows she's pregnant by AJ. Although we didn't see that discussion, I figure Courtney has to assume, given how angry Sonny was, that either he or Brenda would have told Jason. However, Courtney has convinced herself that Jason loves her even though he's not admitting it, so she still thinks if she can just ditch AJ and the baby, she's going to live happily ever after with Jason (I have a tendency to write Courtney as __**very**__ delusional and __**not**__ very smart). I hope that helps clarify things for everyone …_

_Thanks for all your wonderful feedback!_

**Chapter 31**

**Indianapolis**

The entire party had gotten up at what seemed to Elizabeth to be an ungodly hour, and even now were heading for the Corinthos-Morgan jet. Jason had gotten a phone call and fallen back to answer it, so Elizabeth was halfway up the stairs when he called after them, "Elizabeth, Maxie, is there anything you absolutely can't or won't eat? Do you have any food allergies or anything like that?"

"The list of things pregnant women can't eat is too long to get into," Elizabeth called back, pausing to look back at him curiously. She ruthlessly ignored the tendril of heat that curled through her belly. He looked so … yummy. She almost groaned aloud – food questions shouldn't have her thinking of him like that.

"But you don't have a problem with anything that pregnant women can normally have?" Jason pressed.

"No, why?" The heat started to abate, thank goodness.

"Well, I don't like green peppers," Maxie chimed in. "And I could do without mushrooms, except portobello mushrooms, which are awesome." After a short pause, "Oh, and I really hate cilantro. It tastes like soap."

"Anything else?" Jason asked, having caught up to them by now. Maxie shook her head, and he spoke into the phone. "Okay, Brenda, anything that pregnant women can eat, but that doesn't have cilantro, green peppers, or non-portobello mushrooms should be good… Okay, I'll call you when we land." He disconnected the call and turned to the two women. "Okay, let's go."

"What was all that about?" Elizabeth asked again.

"We're invited to dinner tonight with some friends of mine."

"What?!" Elizabeth exclaimed, horrified. "I can't just ditch Emily and Steven on my first night in town!"

"They're invited, too. And before you ask, Brenda already talked to Emily and they're planning to come." She started to protest, but he said, "Look, it'll be fine. This way, you can start to get to know Emily and your brother again without the pressure of having to keep up the conversation."

"Well, who else is going to be there?" Elizabeth couldn't keep the nervousness out of her voice.

"The five of us," Jason said, gesturing around the plane, "It's at Brenda and Sonny's house, so they'll be there. And Emily and Stephen. I think that's it."

"That's it?" Elizabeth asked, overwhelmed. "But that's nine people," she groaned. "And what if they hate me?"

"Well, you know most of us already, and _we_ like you just fine. And why would the rest of them hate you?" Jason asked reasonably. "They don't even know you. Anyway, they're all family, or might as well be – they're really easy to get along with."

"Steven knows me," she countered irritably. "And he never liked me, and I never found him even a little bit easy to get along with." She couldn't believe he thought it was that simple.

"Well, you may have known each other once upon a time, but you've both grown up now, so you can start fresh. And anyway, Emily won't allow him to not like you."

"Emily doesn't have control over it," Elizabeth moaned. "This is gonna be a disaster."

"Emily has more control over Steven than you think," Jason insisted. "He would do pretty much anything to please her, up to and including tolerating me. Liking you pales in comparison to that."

She gave him a sharp look. "Steven doesn't like you? Why not? You seem like a good guy to me."

Jason sighed, and looked uncomfortable for a moment, before he replied, "Steven was friends with Jason Quartermaine. He doesn't dislike me, exactly, but he would've preferred that his wife's brother be a doctor instead of … doing what I do for a living."

"What exactly _do _you do for a living?" Elizabeth asked. "And why is it such a big mystery?"

"I'm a businessman," Jason said simply. "Now, it looks like everyone is ready for takeoff, so let's sit down and fasten our seatbelts."

She looked at him for a long moment, wondering what he wasn't telling her. He raised an eyebrow, and she finally sighed and took her seat.

XXXXXXXXX

An hour later, the plane was somewhere over Ohio, or Pennsylvania, or maybe even western New York, and Elizabeth was still worrying about the dinner. She wished she had more time to prepare for it, although she didn't really know what preparation she could do. She half-feared her brother would take one look at her and say, "So, my whore of a sister comes back to mooch off her family now that she's pregnant," or something equally humiliating. Fidgeting in her seat, she glanced at Jason, who appeared to be napping, and felt an instantaneous hum through her whole body again.

So, as she had been doing repeatedly since last night, she returned her attention to figuring out her sudden attraction to Jason. Even after tossing and turning and mulling it over for most of the night, she still couldn't remember ever feeling an attraction so intense before. Not even when she and Lucky were first dating, or first married. And she had no idea where it had suddenly sprung from and why it had fixated on Jason, of all people.

Sure, he was, objectively speaking, gorgeous. And he had been very sweet and caring and concerned about her comfort and well-being ever since she met him, even before he knew about their connection through Emily and Steven. But still, she hardly knew him, so how could she be so attracted to him?

Maybe it was just a hero complex. He had saved her from Lucky, sort of – first by giving her huge tips that enabled her to believe she could escape a doomed relationship and start fresh with her baby, and then by keeping Lucky away from her and whisking her away on a private plane. Who wouldn't feel a little hero worship for a guy who did all that?

But it didn't feel like hero worship, exactly. It was a little too visceral, too physical to be that. After all, she had hero-worshipped Lucky for a long time without ever having a sudden urge to jump his bones and ride him to oblivion.

So, not hero worship. Or at least, not _just _hero worship. She absently rubbed her belly, as she had recently developed the habit of doing whenever she felt uncomfortable or anxious. Realizing what she was doing suddenly, a new thought occurred to her. Of course! She had been reading in her pregnancy book recently that during the second trimester, pregnant women often experienced increased sexual desire and arousal. Relief swept over her as she realized that it was probably just a hormonal thing and didn't mean she was actually attracted to a man she hardly knew.

Stealing another glance at Jason, she felt the now-familiar attraction hit her, but this time, it wasn't upsetting. It was just a pregnancy thing. Suddenly tired, she relaxed back in her seat and closed her eyes. Within minutes, she was sound asleep.

XXXXXXXXXXX

Jason watched Elizabeth from beneath nearly closed eyelids. She seemed to be worrying about something, which was making her fidget in her seat a lot. Every now and then, she would steal a glance at him, and then she would blush lightly. He wondered what that was about, but figured it was none of his business unless she decided she felt like telling him. He hoped she wasn't too nervous about tonight's dinner. And he really hoped it went well for her with her brother – she seemed to think he would still be holding against her things that she had done as a teenager.

But even if Steven were inclined to keep distance between them, Jason had spoken truthfully when he told her that Emily would never permit it. Steven was as firmly wrapped around Emily's finger as any member of the Quartermaine clan – any of whom would jump off a ten-story building if Emily asked it of them. And they would smile all the way to the ground, too.

So Jason didn't think Elizabeth had much to worry about, and if he could think of a way to reassure her, he would. The problem was, Elizabeth hadn't yet met Emily, so she wouldn't believe him if he tried to tell her that Emily would see to it that Elizabeth was welcomed into her family fold with open arms.

As he watched, Elizabeth stole another glance at him and rubbed her barely-rounded belly. He loved watching how she unconsciously mothered her baby already. He could see in every gesture how much she loved her child, and what a wonderful mother she would be. It was compelling to watch, to see such intense emotion so unconsciously displayed.

Moments later, her eyes widened suddenly, and then she seemed to relax. Within a few minutes, she relaxed back into her seat and went to sleep. Closing his eyes, Jason dozed the rest of the flight himself.

**Port Charles**

Emily waited anxiously at the airport for the jet to taxi toward the terminal. She paced impatiently, frustrated that she wasn't allowed any closer to where they would stop and disembark.

Brenda had told her what time they were expected, and she had been too excited to meet her sister-in-law to wait until Jason brought her around. Plus, she thought it might be easier for Elizabeth to meet her for the first time in neutral territory, rather than on Emily's – and Steven's – home turf.

Finally, the jet taxied to a stop, and after a moment, the door opened and the stairs descended to the tarmac. Spinelli came out first, with his laptop bag and a duffel slung over his shoulders. Next came a blonde woman, who was carrying only a purse and, even from this distance, Emily could see that she was speaking a mile a minute over her shoulder to Johnny, who in turn looked like he was weighed down with an entire set of matched luggage. Emily smiled to herself – Johnny had always been a sucker for a pretty face, and this one was apparently no exception.

Finally, Elizabeth appeared in the doorway, with Jason right behind her, and because Emily's curiosity about her new sister-in-law far outweighed any interest she might have had in Johnny's latest love interest, she focused her full attention on Elizabeth and Jason. He said something, and she shrugged and handed him her overnight bag, then took hold of the railing with her newly-free hand. Jason stayed right behind her, and although he was now carrying her overnight bag and his own duffel bag, he watched her closely and still seemed to have a hand at the ready in case Elizabeth stumbled or something.

Fortunately, that seemed unnecessary, as Elizabeth reached the tarmac without incident. She turned and tried to take her bag back, but Jason shook his head and gestured toward the terminal. She tried again, but he gave her a mischievous grin and shook his head again and started walking. Elizabeth followed, talking all the while, but Jason never lost his amused demeanor.

As they approached the terminal, she heard Jason say, "But, Elizabeth, I'm not questioning that you can carry your own bag. I'm just saying that I'm nicely balanced carrying both of them, so I don't want to give yours back right now." He caught sight of Emily at that moment, seemed to realize she had caught his last comment, and winked at her before continuing, "And anyway, I don't want you to wear yourself out before you meet Emily."

"Wait, I'm meeting Emily today? I mean, before the dinner thing?"

"Yeah, you are."

"But, Jason, I'm a mess. What if she thinks – ?"

Emily cut in, "I think you look just fine, and I'm thrilled to finally meet you."

Elizabeth started, and looked from Jason to Emily and back again. "Jason! Why didn't you warn me that Emily was meeting us?"

Emily cut in again. "Don't blame Jason. I couldn't wait to meet you but I didn't tell him I was coming here. I just thought, you'll be meeting so many new people that you could use another familiar, friendly face going in. And since you and Steven haven't always seen eye to eye, I thought it might be good for us to establish our own relationship, separate from him, so you would know you can count on me, regardless of what he thinks. Plus, I'm not known for my patience and I was just so excited I couldn't contain myself." She paused, then added thoughtfully, "Come to think of it, Jason should know me well enough by now to have guessed that I would be here, so go ahead and blame him for not telling you if you want to." Threading her arm through Elizabeth's, she added, "Now, let's let Jason take care of the bags and whatever else needs taking care of, and we'll just go get acquainted." Looking around, she added, "Where did your friend go? Brenda and I figured we should all have girl-time for the afternoon while the boys do … well, whatever it is that boys do …" Spying the other woman, still talking to Johnny and now Spinelli as well, she said, "Don't worry, you'll love Brenda, everyone does. Oh, there she is – what's her name again?"

Elizabeth was a bit shell-shocked by the force of Emily's personality, but she managed to say, "Maxie."

Emily called out the woman's name, and when she looked up, motioned her over. "Hi, I'm Elizabeth's sister-in-law, Emily, and we all need some girl time before dinner tonight. Leave the luggage with them, and let's go."

"Okay, sure," Maxie said. "Nice to meet you. I'm Elizabeth's new best friend, even though we had a weird start. So if Elizabeth wants girl time, we'll have girl time. What did you have in mind?"

"Well, I was thinking, after all your traveling, you could probably use a mani-pedi, right?"

"Oh, thank God!" Maxie replied. "That sounds like heaven! Let's go!"

Emily looked over her shoulder and winked at Jason as she led Elizabeth and Maxie away to her car, explaining that Brenda would meet them at the salon.

XXXXXXXXX

As Emily drove the new arrivals to the nail salon, she studied the pair of them. Elizabeth, sitting in the front seat with her, seemed remarkably at ease with the younger woman, considering how they had met – and how recently. But Maxie seemed genuinely concerned for Elizabeth, speaking up from the back seat to ask if she was hungry and suggesting maybe they should stop and get lunch or a snack or something.

Elizabeth laughed and said, "That's okay, Maxie, I'm fine. I packed snacks on the plane, remember?"

"Yeah, but Elizabeth, the baby can't live on pretzels and ginger ale." Meeting Emily's eye in the rearview mirror, she added, "You're a doctor, right? What do you think?"

Emily smiled and said, "I think we should stop and grab some takeout, and I know just the place. I also know what Brenda likes, so we'll get some for her, too." Changing the subject, she asked, "Maxie, Jason mentioned on the phone that you're planning to visit your sister in New York, but I hope you're coming to dinner tonight? And maybe you'd like to stay a few days with us before you go? I'm sure Elizabeth would feel more comfortable having you nearby while she gets settled in." At least, Emily hoped she was reading Elizabeth's body language correctly.

Maxie said, "Oh, I was planning to check into a hotel for a few days. I can't go right to New York anyway." Her tone became disgruntled. "Jason insisted at the last minute that we leave our cell phones in Seattle, and all my phone numbers were in there. Johnny bought us new prepaid phones in Bloomington, but I forgot to ask my dad to give me Georgie's number. And how would I explain that to him anyway? He knows my cell phone is practically a body part and I would never forget to take it on a trip. So now I have to remember to check messages several times a day so my dad won't freak if he leaves me a message and then doesn't hear from me pretty quick. I'll have to make up some excuse for him why I have a new number. Maybe I'll tell him I got a better deal with a new company or something. Anyway, in the meantime, Spinelli promised to hack the cell phone company's server and get Georgie's number for me, but he says it's gonna take at least a few days, and that I'm lucky he's as good as he is, 'cause the cybersecurity there is pretty tight." She paused and returned to the topic at hand. "So I figured I'd just check into a hotel if you can recommend one. I don't want to put you out."

"Actually," Emily said cheerfully, "We have plenty of room, so the more, the merrier. Why waste the money? What do you think, Elizabeth?"

She was relieved when Elizabeth's smile seemed genuine. "Truthfully, I think it would be great if Maxie stayed with us, as long as you don't mind. I've gotten kind of used to having her around." She smiled and winked at Maxie over her shoulder.

Emily said, "It's settled, then. You'll stay with us until you're ready to head to New York."

XXXXXXXXX

Brenda breezed in to the salon just as Elizabeth, Emily, and Maxie settled into neighboring pedicure chairs. "Oh, thank God I didn't miss all the fun!" She leaned over to kiss Emily's cheek, then turned to Elizabeth and Maxie and continued, "Okay, which one of you is which?" Leaning over to kiss each of their cheeks, she didn't give them a chance to respond right away. "I'm Brenda, Jason's best friend – and don't let my husband tell you any different. I knew Jason before the accident, so I get to claim BFF status even if he spends more time with Sonny now. I mean, he has to, right, since they're business partners? Anyway, sorry I'm late – I had to drop off my daughter with her grandfather, but now we have the whole afternoon, since Mike is keeping Adela overnight. Anyway, which of you is which, again?"

Elizabeth couldn't help laughing as Maxie said, "I'm Maxie and that's Elizabeth. It's nice to meet you."

"You, too," Brenda said, settling into her own pedicure chair. "And welcome to Port Charles!"

Elizabeth finally got a word in. "Thanks, Brenda. It's nice to meet you. I gather you're hosting tonight's dinner?"

"Yeah, Sonny's cooking something fabulous – one of his best qualities is his ability to whip up gourmet meals at the drop of a hat – and this way you'll start to make friends right away. We're really excited to have you here, and we want you to feel right at home."

Emily chimed in, "Yeah, I was just explaining how everyone's related to each other and everything to Maxie. I was gonna tell Elizabeth, too, but it turns out, Jason beat me to it as far as the Quartermaine history goes." She waggled her eyebrows at Brenda, who looked fascinated by that.

"Really? Jason willingly discussed – well – _anything_?"

Elizabeth frowned. "Why is that surprising? Jason's been really forthcoming about most stuff – well, not about what he does for a living, but he told me all about his family and his accident and all that."

Emily and Brenda exchanged a look, and Emily said, "Jason is notorious for being quiet and private about himself, and that's all a particularly touchy subject for him."

"Yeah," Brenda added, "He avoids those topics at all costs, so we're just a little surprised that he's been telling you stuff that he hates talking about."

Maxie chimed in, "To be fair, Elizabeth, Jason hardly says a word about anything important when I'm around, so I guess it must be something about you."

"Wow," Elizabeth said. "Maybe he just felt sorry for me, or maybe it's that he thinks of me as family…"

"I doubt it," said Brenda. "He thinks of _me_ as family, and I usually have to pry even the least little thing out of him."

"And _I'm_ his sister, and he only tells me stuff when he can't avoid it. So he must really like you if he's talking to you about anything important."

Maxie said to Elizabeth, "Yeah, I think he really likes you – as in, _likes _you, likes you – a lot. I think he only tolerates me for your sake." Turning to Brenda and Emily, she added, "He's always teasing her and making her laugh or trying to annoy her, like a teenager with a crush. Except he's very protective of her, too. You should've seen how he handled that putz, Lucky, when Lucky was trying to get in to my apartment to see her before we left Seattle."

Elizabeth shook her head. "Maxie, don't give them the wrong idea. Jason is protective of me, but I think it's because I remind him of Emily. Anyway, maybe we're becoming friends, but he certainly doesn't _like_ me, like me."

"Does, too," Maxie insisted. "And you can't possibly remind him of Emily. You're totally different from her."

"Does not," Elizabeth countered. "And you've only known Emily for like an hour, so how do you know we're totally different?"

"Yeah, he really does," Maxie said confidently. "And you've only known Emily for like an hour, too, so how do you know you're not totally different?" Elizabeth noticed that Brenda and Emily seemed fascinated by their discussion.

"Maxie, even if I don't remind him of Emily, he doesn't _like _me, like me. For one thing, I'm still married, and for another, I'm pregnant, and for another, I'm family."

"So?"

"So, he doesn't."

Brenda chimed in, "Well, I haven't seen you together, obviously, but what you're describing is certainly unusual for Jason, so I'd say you're special to him, one way or another."

"He just got really protective because of the situation I was in. He felt sorry for me, that's all."

Emily, ever the peacemaker, said, "Well, even if he _doesn't_ – um – _like _you, like you, he obviously cares a great deal about you. Jason tends not to ever really feel sorry for people. He assumes they're making choices and therefore don't need sympathy, although they might need help to fix mistakes they've made."

"Well, anyway," Maxie said cheerfully, "He certainly does focus on Elizabeth when she's around. The rest of us pretty much might as well not be in the room. Which is why I think he _likes_ her, likes her."

Elizabeth groaned, and Brenda apparently took pity on her, asking her about how her pregnancy was coming along. To Elizabeth's relief, the rest of the afternoon passed without further discussion of Jason. The idea that he might really like her hadn't occurred to her before, and she just wasn't ready to cope with it if he did, so she hoped Maxie was wrong.

If he cared about her, though – well, that was kind of nice. It made her feel safe and secure.

Put that together with how much she was enjoying getting to know Brenda and Emily, and Elizabeth was starting to feel like she might have stumbled into a new family, even if her brother didn't turn out to be as welcoming as Jason thought he would. Rubbing her belly absently, she thought, _Well, baby, it looks like we might have found a place to call home and some new friends, doesn't it?_

Looking at the other three women, Elizabeth felt really blessed to have even the possibility of friends and family, when just a few short weeks ago, she had been sure she was all alone in the world.

**Seattle**

After a lot of fruitless searching on his own, Lucky finally figured out where Georgie Jones was in school by casually asking Mac if he would be taking time off to spend time with his daughter on spring break. Mac didn't seem to notice anything amiss, thank goodness, and said, "Oh, no, NYU offers credits for doing a volunteer thing in Guatemala, so she'll be going there that week. It'll give her a chance to work on her Spanish some more, too."

"Oh, that's great," Lucky replied, relieved at how easy that had been. "But you and Maxie must really miss her."

"I really do, but she's happy and that's what matters. And Maxie missed her so much she decided to go spend some time with her. She says it'll also give her a chance to try to make some contacts in the fashion world, which she tells me is her dream career. I don't know how long that'll last, but I figure, Georgie will help her stay out of trouble."

Lucky laughed uncomfortably and said, "I'm sure she'll be fine." Changing the subject abruptly, because he couldn't figure out how to ease into it, he said, "Listen, Mac, I don't know if you heard my wife … um, well, she left me and …" Lucky couldn't very well say he wanted to go grill Maxie about where she went, so he said the only thing he figured would be believable. "Um, she went to stay with some family back east." Shifting awkwardly, he continued. "I was wondering if I could maybe take some time off to go talk to her? You know, try to work things out?"

"I'm sorry to hear that, Lucky. How long would you need to be gone?"

"Maybe two or three weeks?" Lucky was confident he would find her quickly, and he could always talk her around to his point of view, so he figured that was safe.

"I'm sympathetic, Lucky, but I can't spare you for more than a week. So yeah, you can go, but if you're not back for your shift next Tuesday, I won't be able to hold your job."

"Okay, Mac, I understand. I'll see you next week. And thanks."

When he got back to his desk, he glanced around quickly to make sure no one was watching. Pulling out his cell phone, he made a call. When a woman's voice came on the line, he said hurriedly, "Listen, I'm heading to New York to track her down. I've got a week off, so we need to work fast."

She said, "Well, you better find her quick. Should I meet you there to help you look?"

"No, I'll call you if I run into any trouble. I don't want to risk her seeing us together."

"Okay, keep me posted."

"Okay." Glancing up, he saw his partner walking toward him. "Gotta go." He hung up quickly, saying to Cruz, "Listen, Mac just gave me a week off to go talk to Elizabeth, so I'll see you next Tuesday."

Cruz said, "Good luck, man."

Lucky nodded, gathered his belongings, and headed out.


	33. Chapter 32

_A/N: Thanks for all the feedback!  
_

**Chapter 32**

**The Island**

Courtney sat on the beach, trying to decide on her next move. She had been covertly watching AJ, and as far as she could tell, he hadn't touched a drink since arriving on the island yesterday. This was not good news, since she had spun tales for Tommy about an abusive, drunk husband. If he didn't cooperate by at least drinking, Tommy would start to wonder if she was being entirely honest, and he might switch loyalties. After all, men seemed to stick together. Look how Sonny was suddenly helping AJ.

As she considered this, AJ approached. She stiffened when he plopped down in the sand beside her. What made him think she wanted to talk to him? She had made it no secret that she was avoiding him all day.

He said cordially, "Good afternoon, Courtney, how are you feeling today?"

"I've had morning sickness all day," she snapped. "But thanks so much for asking," she added in a voice dripping with sarcasm. "Unfortunately, you look healthy and relaxed."

He actually laughed good-naturedly. "Yes, thanks, I slept well and I've been enjoying the relaxing beauty of the island." Courtney resisted the urge to smack him. He said, "I was thinking we could have dinner together this evening. I understand the casino has a good restaurant. If you'd like to play the tables a bit, we could do that, too."

"I don't want to have dinner with you, AJ. I don't want to go to the casino or anywhere else with you." Spying Tommy watching from a short distance away, she leaned away from AJ and said a bit louder. "Why don't you just get back to drinking like usual?"

His face darkened, but he made a visible effort to control his temper. "Well, Courtney, I don't drink anymore." His voice was even, and he got to his feet casually. "I'm going to have dinner at the casino tonight, so if you change your mind, the offer's open." He turned and headed back toward the house.

"I won't," she spat after him. He merely raised a hand without turning around and continued on his way.

When he was gone, Tommy approached cautiously. "Mrs. Quartermaine? Are – are you all right?"

She wished she could cry on cue, but instead she had to settle for a troubled sigh. "He swears he's stopped drinking, Tommy, but he's said that before, so I just don't know if I can believe him. What if he – ?" She shuddered delicately, not finishing the thought primarily because she thought it would be more effective to leave it to Tommy's imagination.

"Don't worry, Mrs. Quartermaine, we – I won't let him hurt you. I promise, you can count on me."

She sighed again. "Would you just sit here with me for a while?" she asked innocently.

"Um – well, – uh, sure, Mrs. Quartermaine." He dropped to the spot in the sand that AJ had vacated moments before. "Why don't we – um – talk about something else? Something that won't be so – upsetting for you, maybe?"

God, his hesitant stammering was annoying. But she said sweetly, "That would be nice, Tommy. Why don't you tell me about you? Are you married?"

He turned bright red. "Um, no, Mrs. Quartermaine, not married. Single."

"No girlfriend, either?"

"Uh, no, Mrs. Quartermaine I mean, I date a little, but there's no one special." Courtney listened with half an ear as Tommy droned on and on about his family and his boring life.

Neither one noticed that two men watched from different vantage points. One stood on a dune a ways down the beach. The other watched from the house's back deck.

Neither one was pleased with what he saw.

**Port Charles**

Sam looked cautiously around the restaurant. She couldn't believe she had let Jerry talk her into having dinner in public rather than continuing to order room service, as they had done ever since they had left the wedding reception days ago. But Jerry had insisted that she had to be going stir crazy after being cooped up for days, and even if she wasn't, he was.

So she had finally acquiesced, acknowledging, if only to herself, that it was nice to dress up and put on makeup for a change. She waited alone in the bar while Jerry went to speak to the maitre'd to find out when their table would be ready. Suddenly, a voice from behind her said, a little too loudly, "Isn't that the little tramp who tried to trap poor Jax?"

Before Sam could identify the voice, someone answered. "Yes, Edward, I think it is." Ah, so it was Edward Quartermaine. The old goat had run enough schemes in his life that he shouldn't be allowed to criticize _her_. "I can't believe she has the nerve to stay in Port Charles after what she did. Just think how devastated Skye would be if her scheme had worked."

"Oh, Monica, don't pretend you care how Skye feels – you haven't liked her since the minute she showed up in Port Charles." Sam considered whether to defend herself or not. The problem was, so far, there were three of them, and it was possible the whole clan might be there. However many were there, they were clearly closing ranks against her.

"Oh, Tracy, put a sock in it. Skye and I made peace on her wedding day. It's not her fault Alan couldn't keep his pants zipped."

"Monica, how many times do I have to apologize for the same thing?" That made four – definitely more than Sam wanted to take on by herself. She sipped her ginger ale, feeling awkward and self-conscious but trying not to let it show. Where the heck was Jerry?

"Oh, Alan, I got over that long ago. Otherwise, you wouldn't still be living in my house."

"Never mind that," Tracy snapped. "What is that bitch still doing in Port Charles? And did you see her plastered all over Jerry Jax at the reception? You'd think he would stay away from a tramp who tried to ruin his brother's life."

"Well, darling, she didn't succeed, did she?" At last, Jerry's voice waded into the fray. "And she has certain – _attributes_ – that make her desirable to have around for any redblooded man." Sam felt humiliation seep into her at his rather dubious defense of her. He might as well have said, _I hang out with her because she's a good fuck, and Jax doesn't care._

"You're disgusting," Tracy snapped. "Daddy, is our table ready, or what?" Their voices faded as the group headed away from her, presumably to find their table.

"Sam, darling, our table is ready," Jerry said, approaching.

She turned to glare at him. "Gee, Jerry, I'm surprised you want to have dinner in public with me, where my _attributes _can't be put to good use without getting us arrested."

Jerry was unfazed. "Now, Sam, darling, you know I like your devious mind just as much as your delectable body, but I had to give them an explanation they would believe."

"So you basically tell them I'm a good lay?" she hissed.

Still, Jerry was unrepentant. He took her arm and steered her out of the bar toward a quiet table in the corner of the restaurant. "Well, darling, anything else they would believe might ruin our plans. Now, calm down and let's go eat. I'm sure you won't be nearly so emotional when your blood sugar returns to normal."

Though she wanted more than anything to wipe that smug expression off his face, she realized that no matter how condescending he was, she still needed him, at least for the time being. So, there was nothing for Sam to do but sit down and look at the menu.

Maybe it was childish, but she was definitely ordering all the most expensive dishes available.

XXXXXXXXXXXX

Jason waited with Sonny, Johnny, Spinelli, and Steven for the women to arrive for dinner. Brenda had called Sonny a couple of hours ago and said that they were going to show Maxie and Emily around town and help them get their bearings. When he had asked, she had said they were all getting along famously and that Elizabeth was "just lovely."

He was pleased, of course, but there was something in Brenda's tone that made him nervous. She sounded the way she always did when she was up to something. The trouble was, he couldn't imagine what she could be up to. He just hoped that, whatever it was, Elizabeth wouldn't get caught up in the middle of it. On the positive side, he figured between Emily and Maxie, Elizabeth had protection in case Brenda went overboard.

Even as he had the thought, the door opened and the four women tumbled in, laughing hysterically. All the men in the room paused in their conversation and stared as each of them dropped several packages in the doorway.

"He did not!" Elizabeth said, laughing harder.

"I swear," Emily insisted through her giggles. "He totally did."

"I'm sorry, but that is just too much," Maxie gasped, wiping away a tear as she tried to contain her laughter.

"No, really," Brenda said. "I heard it from like four other people. He really did!"

Sonny, who was in the kitchen putting the finishing touches on dinner, came to the doorway to see what the commotion was. He asked, "Who did what?" When that just sent the women into gales of laughter again, he rolled his eyes and waited until they quieted before he said to no one in particular, "Welcome, ladies! Johnny will get you all something to drink while I finish up in the kitchen." He approached Brenda and kissed her briefly, then asked, "Aren't you gonna introduce me?"

Brenda grinned at him and introduced both Maxie and Elizabeth. Sonny greeted the women warmly, then headed back to the kitchen, while Steven walked over and kissed Emily. After a moment's hesitation, he leaned down and kissed Elizabeth's cheek, too. "Welcome to Port Charles, Elizabeth," he murmured so softly that Jason wouldn't have heard him had he not followed Steven to greet the ladies. "I'm glad we have the opportunity to get to know each other again."

"Me, too," Elizabeth said shyly. After an awkward pause, Steven turned to meet Maxie, and it seemed to Jason that Elizabeth sagged with relief. He slipped nearer to her, touched her arm gently, and whispered, "Are you okay?"

"Yeah," she whispered back. "That was awkward, but it was way better than I thought it would be."

"Well, relax, okay? It's not good for the baby or for you to be stressed out, and I'm guessing you've been worrying all day."

"Not _all_ day," Elizabeth protested. "Between Emily, Brenda, and Maxie, and manicures, pedicures, and shopping, I didn't have time to worry." She turned to meet his eyes suddenly. "Did you really ride your motorcycle into the living room at the Quartermaine house?"

Jason rolled his eyes and said, "What other secrets did they reveal?"

"Not much else," Elizabeth said. Her voice grew teasing as she added, "For example, they didn't tell me what you do for a living, which I'm pretty sure they know. And they either didn't know or didn't tell me the details of what you were doing in Seattle and Bloomington."

He let his amusement show as he teased back, "Hey, I told you that myself! It's not my fault you fell asleep!"

"Well, I fully expect you to tell me again," she insisted. "You said yourself it's not my fault – I can't help it that the baby makes me ridiculously tired all the time."

"Ah, but you _can_ help it that you're so stubborn you refused to postpone the conversation 'til morning."

Elizabeth laughed and smacked his arm lightly. "But, Jason, I was afraid if I didn't keep you talking, you would tell me in the morning that it was actually all a big secret."

Jason gave another exaggerated eye roll and said, "Oh, like that would've stopped you. Did anyone ever tell you how stubborn you are?"

Suddenly, Jason became aware that the room had gone silent. Looking around, he realized that everyone was watching him and Elizabeth. He asked, "What?"

Maxie turned to Brenda and said, "See, I told you. It's like no one else is in the room."

"Yeah," said Brenda, "I see what you mean."

Jason warned, "Brenda …"

"Oh, stop it, Jason," she replied, unfazed. "It's not my fault that you didn't hear Sonny say dinner is ready – twice."

"Well," Jason said, "I guess we should eat, then, shouldn't we?"

An hour later, Elizabeth looked around the table as she took another bite of the heavenly chocolate torte Sonny had made. She couldn't believe how welcoming everyone was … well, she supposed Jason had been right – she had known and liked most of the people at the table before she ever arrived in Port Charles. And Emily had been right, too – getting to know her and Brenda ahead of time had helped her to relax tonight while she got to know Sonny – and Steven – a little bit.

Things with Steven were still awkward, but they really were going better than she had ever expected. He had been perfectly cordial all evening, and although it saddened her a bit that they didn't have the ease between them that she saw between Jason and Emily, she figured it was a start.

Now, Jason leaned over and whispered, "Are you okay? Are you getting tired?"

Elizabeth replied, "No, I'm fine, really. You don't need to worry about me, Jason."

He smiled slightly, "I like worrying about you. And even though you'll be staying with your brother and Emily, I want you to know that you can call me anytime, for any reason. If you need anything or want to get out of the house or if you're bored, or whatever. Anything at all, okay?"

For the first time, Elizabeth wondered if maybe Jason really _did, _as Maxie thought, "_like _her, like her." The thought scared her, so she pushed it aside and smiled at him. "Thanks, Jason, for everything you've done for me."

"It's been my pleasure," he replied sincerely. "And I hope you consider me a friend by now, because that's how I think of you."

"I do, Jason." Elizabeth said, just as sincerely. Then she gave a small laugh and whispered conspiratorially, "Don't tell Maxie, but I think you're the best friend I ever had."

He chuckled, "Don't worry, your secret is safe with me." His eyes took on a teasing light and he whispered, "I hear I'm pretty good at keeping secrets."

Elizabeth couldn't help it … she laughed out loud, then blushed when all eyes turned toward them again. It seemed like that had been happening all evening. Somehow, she kept getting into private conversations with Jason, then one or the other of them would start laughing, and then everyone would stare.

Sonny said, "Care to share the joke?"

Elizabeth blushed, then figured, why not? These were all Jason's friends, or so he had said. So she said lightly, "Jason just tried to shock me with the information that he's good at keeping secrets!" Sonny looked surprised, so she added with mock solemnity to the room at large, "I know it's hard to believe, but he really seems to think he doesn't share information with people." Turning to Emily, she asked, "You're a doctor, Emily, so tell me, how do we help Jason get over this delusion?"

Emily stared at her for a long moment, then everyone seemed to realize at once that Jason was shaking with silent laughter as he looked at Elizabeth, and the entire room erupted in laughter.

Just as everyone seemed to be catching their breath, Johnny piped up, "Hey, listen, I'll be happy to be Jason's therapist. Just say the word, boss, and you know I'm there for you, 100 percent." As Jason tried – and failed – to give Johnny a stone cold glare, gales of laughter filled the room again.

XXXXXXXXX

Hours later, Maxie and Elizabeth were talking quietly in Elizabeth's room at Emily and Stephen's house. Maxie had her own room down the hall, but she and Elizabeth were discussing their very full day as part of a comfortable winding down ritual.

The two women were giggling at how funny Jason looked when he tried to glare at Johnny but couldn't stop laughing long enough to make it work, when out of the blue, Maxie said, "So, I guess you like Jason, huh?"

Flustered by the sudden change of topic, Elizabeth stammered, "Wh – what? Like Jason? What do you mean?" She gave a nervous laugh, then said, "Well, I mean, of course I like Jason – I mean, I don't _like_ him, like him, but I – um – I _do – _well – _like_ him, you know?"

Maxie stared at her for a long moment. Eventually, she said, "Elizabeth, it's obvious that you like him, and he likes you, so I don't know why you're getting all flustered about it. I mean, the two of you spent half of dinner in your own little world, so don't try to tell me you're not attracted to him. And why wouldn't you be? He's super hot!" Elizabeth gasped in surprise, then started coughing and choking on her own saliva. Maxie didn't notice right away, since she was still speaking, "Not as hot as Johnny, of course, but still …" She broke off to ask, "Hey, are you okay? Should I go get Emily or something?" Elizabeth shook her head frantically and held up a hand. After a minute, she finally caught her breath.

She gasped, "Maxie, I'm _not_ attracted to Jason! He's my friend, that's _all_. Anything else is just … hormones!" At Maxie's skeptical look, she said, "Really, Maxie! Read the pregnancy books if you don't believe me! Or ask Brenda! It's common knowledge that pregnant women get really … um … _horny_ during the second trimester." Maxie was shaking her head, but Elizabeth said emphatically, "It's hormones, Maxie – it has nothing to do with Jason. Now, I need to go to sleep, so I'll see you in the morning."

"Okay, Elizabeth," Maxie yielded reluctantly, "But you're sure protesting an awful lot for someone who's not interested in Jason. And if it's really hormones, then why aren't you attracted to pretty much any man who's not a relative?" She frowned. "You aren't attracted to Johnny, are you? Or … Spinelli?"

"No, of course not! And anyway, I don't think the fact that it's hormones means that it can't be specific to one person. And before you say anything else, it's probably hormones combined with a little bit of hero-worship. I mean, Jason literally swept in and carried me away from Lucky! Why wouldn't my hormones pick him?"

Maxie shook her head again, "Elizabeth, it's not a crime to be attracted to Jason." When Elizabeth started to protest again, Maxie spoke over her, "Listen, you don't have to admit it to me, but at least admit it to yourself. And, please, don't close off the possibility that you could have a really great relationship with Jason." Again, Elizabeth started to protest, and again, Maxie kept talking. "I know it's really soon since you separated from Lucky, and you're not even divorced yet, but I'm not saying jump right into it this minute. I'm saying be open to the possibility when the time is right, okay? I mean, Jason seems like a great guy, and like Emily said earlier, he obviously cares a lot about you. Guys like that don't come around all that often – and I should know – I've met way more Luckys than Jasons or Johnnys or even Spinellis, you know? So try to keep an open mind, okay? For the future?" She finally stopped talking, and looked hopefully at Elizabeth.

"Maxie," Elizabeth began, and was surprised to hear her own next words, "I want you to know that in spite of the way we met, I'm really glad you're here, and I'm really glad you're my friend, and I really appreciate that you tell me what you really think. So, even though I think you're wrong about me and Jason, I'll agree that I won't close off the possibility completely for sometime in the future, when my life settles down, if it turns out that it's not just hormones and that he really does _like _me, like me. Okay?"

Maxie smiled happily, "Okay." She gave Elizabeth a quick hug, which Elizabeth returned sincerely. "I just really want you to be happy. You deserve it, you know."

"Thanks, Maxie." The two women said goodnight, and as Maxie left, Elizabeth called after her, "I want you to be happy, too."

Maxie paused in the doorway to give Elizabeth a smile. She said, "And that's why we're best friends." With one last smile, she slipped out of the room, leaving Elizabeth with a lot to think about before she finally fell asleep.

**New York City**

As the plane reached the terminal at Kennedy Airport, Lucky turned on his cell phone and glanced at it to see if he had any new messages. Thank goodness, she had only called twice. He decided a return call could wait until he had a plan for how he was going to figure out where Georgie spent her time – a dorm room? An apartment? A library?

From what he knew of Georgie, he assumed the library would be the most likely place to start. At least he knew what she looked like – fortunately, Mac kept a photo of his two girls in his office. It was a few years old, but she likely hadn't changed all that much from age 16 to age 20. And she had always been the brainy, studious one, so she probably spent every moment that she wasn't in class at a campus library.

Sadly, Lucky doubted that Maxie would be caught dead in a library, so he would have to find Georgie first, then tail her home, and then wait 'til Georgie left again in order to confront Maxie and get her to tell him where Elizabeth had gone when she left him. He just hoped Maxie actually knew.

His partner was getting impatient, so he needed to find Elizabeth, and fast – before she lost patience with him entirely.


	34. Chapter 33

**Chapter 33**

**Port Charles**

Jason couldn't believe his own behavior.

It was four o'clock in the morning, and rationally, he knew it was ridiculous to be sitting outside his sister's house, watching to make sure that Elizabeth's husband didn't show up.

Rationally, he knew the likelihood was that the other man had not yet figured out that this was where Elizabeth had run to.

Rationally, he knew he might just as well be at home, sleeping peacefully in anticipation of the busy day that tomorrow – well, today – was sure to be after his extended absence from Port Charles.

But rationality, he had discovered in the wee hours of the morning, had practically nothing to do with his behavior where Elizabeth was concerned.

After Elizabeth had left with Steven, Emily, and Maxie last night, he had come home from Brenda's dinner party and gotten himself ready for bed. He was actually pretty tired, which was unusual for him, but his sleep schedule had been erratic at best for weeks, and he never slept all that well when he was in unfamiliar territory.

He had been anticipating relaxing in his own bed for the first time in weeks, and had assumed he would fall asleep as soon as his head hit his own pillow.

He had figured he would get a good night's sleep and be fresh in the morning when he went to work and started catching up on business.

With that plan in mind, he had spent yesterday afternoon, while the ladies were pampering themselves, catching up on his personal life. First, he had unpacked and taken care of all the mail that had accumulated while he was gone. Then he had done his laundry and made a quick trip to the grocery store, and by the time all that was done, it had been time to head across the hall to dinner.

Unfortunately, his plans to be rested and ready to go in the morning hadn't panned out at all. It was four in the morning and he hadn't even closed his eyes for longer than a minute, because no sooner had he turned out the light than thoughts of Elizabeth had jumped from the edges of his consciousness to the center of his thoughts. Lately, she never seemed to leave his mind completely; instead, she was always somewhere in his mind in a way that no one else in his life was – or ever had been, in his memory.

In this case, he had begun to wonder how things had gone for her once she was virtually alone with her recently-estranged family. As he had lain there, hoping she wasn't too stressed out, and hoping that she was getting some much-needed rest after their travels and the excitement of the day, he had gotten more and more restless and worried.

Eventually, a little after one in the morning, he had realized he was also worried because he didn't know where her prick of a husband was. Oh, he realized it was almost certain the man was still in Seattle, where they had left him, at best still drowning his sorrows, or at worst, trying to figure out where Elizabeth might have gone. The problem was, "almost" wasn't good enough when it came to Elizabeth's safety, and Lucky Spencer was so volatile that Jason wasn't convinced she would be safe at Emily's if Lucky came looking.

Sighing, he had glanced at the clock and gotten out of bed at one-thirty in the morning. Mind made up, he had dressed quickly, then headed out to the elevator and then down to the garage to get his bike.

As ridiculous as it seemed, he figured he might as well go and keep watch, since he obviously wasn't going to get any sleep anyway.

Now, almost three hours later, he was settled as comfortably as he could expect on the porch of Emily's house. He could have let himself in, but he wasn't sure he wanted any of them to know he was being so overprotective, and anyway, he didn't want to startle any of them in the morning. He would stay until they were at least awake, so that Lucky wouldn't be able to sneak in unnoticed and Elizabeth wouldn't have to deal with him alone. Whatever history was between Elizabeth and her brother, Jason was confident that the man wouldn't let anyone harm his little sister.

Tomorrow, he would put a guard on her, and he would also get his investigators to check up on the whereabouts of Elizabeth's not-yet-ex-husband.

Then maybe he could catch up on his sleep.

XXXXXXXXXXXX

Brenda waited impatiently for it to be late enough to go see Jason. She hadn't had a chance to corner him last night and catch up on everything that had been going on since he left Port Charles, and after last night, she was more curious than ever about his relationship with one Elizabeth Webber. She had lost count of how many times she had noticed the two of them conversing quietly, as if they had forgotten everyone else in the room. Not to mention, she couldn't remember ever seeing him laugh – or even smile – as much as he had last night. At least, not since the accident all those years ago.

As she sipped the coffee she had made for herself while she waited, she wondered if there was anything she could do to encourage Jason to see that Elizabeth was good for him. She had always wanted him to be happy, and although there had been times that he had seemed – not content, exactly, but at least okay with his life – he had always seemed too restless, too edgy, to be really happy. But last night, whenever he was talking to Elizabeth, he had seemed relaxed and almost at peace, in a way he had never been before – maybe not even _before _the accident.

She decided the first thing to do would be to see if Emily was thinking along the same lines as she was. She didn't want to dive in headfirst, only to discover that the waters were shallower than they looked. It was possible, she supposed, that Elizabeth and Jason had connected only because she had needed someone to take care of her, and he had needed someone to take care of. It was possible that Elizabeth was reeling from the breakup of her marriage and feeling overwhelmed by the prospect of being a single mother, and that Jason was an anchor for her in turbulent times. And although Brenda liked Elizabeth so far, and her instincts told her that the connection between Elizabeth and Jason was much deeper than either of them perhaps realized, she didn't want to rush them into anything that might result in one or both of them getting deeply hurt.

She glanced at the clock and reluctantly decided that it was still too early to go see Jason. As she had the thought, though, she heard the elevator chime out in the hall. Frowning, she went to see who was arriving so early. As she approached the door, she heard Ritchie's voice greeting the new arrival, and was surprised when she heard Jason's voice answer.

Frowning slightly, she opened the door and interrupted their conversation, "Jason? What are you doing out at this hour? You weren't working already, were you?"

He paused with his hand on the door, and it seemed to Brenda that he might be blushing when he turned to face her. "I – I couldn't sleep, so I went for a ride."

Brenda had the distinct impression that there was a lot more to it that he wasn't telling her, but she reluctantly decided to let him get away with it for now. "Oh. Well, I was waiting for you to wake up, so we could catch up a little. I hardly got to talk to you last night, which is fine, but I've missed you and there's a bunch of stuff that you promised to tell me when you got back. And since you're already awake, why don't you come over and have some coffee with me?"

He thought about that for a few seconds, looking as uncomfortable as he usually did when he knew she was going to pump him for information and that he was going to wind up answering her questions. Finally, he seemed to realize she was just going to keep bugging him until she was all caught up, so he answered, "I need to grab a quick shower, but I'll come by in about 15 minutes if you want."

"Okay," she said.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Forty-five minutes later, Brenda looked shellshocked by everything Jason had told her. He couldn't blame her, really. His planned trip had seemed so straightforward – go to specific clinics in four cities, destroy whatever sperm samples remained at each of them, make sure his biological children were happy and well-cared-for, then come home and forget all of this had ever happened. Or, if he couldn't actually _forget, _at least he had figured he would put it all behind him and move on with his life once the bone marrow drive was done.

And now, he had possibly left samples intact at two of the four cities; he had spied on one – or perhaps two – of his biological children (Spinelli had promised yesterday to try to find out whether the Walkers' son was also the product of a Jason Quartermaine donation), and he now thought he might eventually want to meet them; and he had somehow wound up bringing back a woman who was probably carrying his child, who was about to begin proceedings for what would likely become a messy divorce, and who was his brother-in-law's estranged sister. Not to mention he still needed to find out if the con woman from West Palm Beach was also carrying his child, and if she was, figure out what he was going to do about that.

He was just as interested in what Brenda had told him. He had heard, of course, that AJ and Courtney had gotten married and were currently staying on Sonny's island. And Sonny had told him that AJ had seemed resolved to letting bygones be bygones with Jason and being a good parent for his coming child. But Brenda filled in details Sonny and the guards had provided of AJ and Courtney's wedding, and also about what Emily and Monica had told her about AJ's seeming commitment to sobriety and his work at controlling his temper.

Jason was still skeptical that it would last, but he hoped for the kid's sake that it would. Other than that, it was really nothing to him anymore.

Even more interesting than the story about AJ's wedding, though, was what Brenda had told her she had heard about Skye's wedding. He wasn't sure the story hadn't been exaggerated in the retelling, since Brenda hadn't actually been there, but he was extremely curious about Samantha McCall's relationship with Skye's new husband. He was even more interested in what Skye's new brother-in-law was possibly doing with the woman. According to Brenda, Emily thought that Jerry Jax had arranged the public disgrace of the woman at the rehearsal, but then had made a seemingly contradictory public display at the wedding reception. Normally, being forced to listen to this kind of gossip would have made Jason want to kill someone, but in this case, he needed as much information as possible about the woman who might be carrying his child. One never knew what seemingly trivial information might come in handy.

He made a mental note to talk to his private investigators to find out if they had learned anything new. Now, however, Brenda said quietly, "Jason, how are you doing with all this? It seems like so much has changed in such a short time for you."

He considered the question before he said, "The thing is, Brenda, it is what it is. I wouldn't necessarily have chosen it, but there's nothing I can do to change it, and I'm not sure anymore that I would if I could."

Brenda's surprise showed. "But Jason, you were so angry when you found out about the sperm donations or sales or whatever you want to call them … And this McCall woman seems like a walking disaster, and even though the Walkers seem like good people, you have a daughter who could die. What do you mean, you wouldn't change it?"

"Well, it's not all bad, is it?" he asked thoughtfully. "I mean, we don't know for sure that Samantha McCall's baby is even mine, but regardless, the Walkers have children they might not have, and the need for the bone marrow has – has helped, I guess, my relationship with Monica." He paused, deciding how to say the rest of it. Finally, he just said it. "And then there's Elizabeth. She was in an untenable situation with her husband, and she didn't think she had anybody she could turn to for help. Now, she's out of a relationship she thought she was stuck in, and she's re-establishing ties with people who will probably be very good for her and her baby. How can I regret it if Quartermaine's actions are what led to me being able to help her with all that?"

Jason could see the wheels turning as Brenda digested that. Finally, she asked, "Jason, are you sure that's all it is? That you helped her get out of that situation?"

"What do you mean?" he asked, genuinely unsure what she was getting at.

"Well," she said carefully, "You seem to really like her a lot."

"She's family," he answered briefly.

"I'm just saying," Brenda replied, "You seem really comfortable with her, in a way that you usually aren't with anyone – not even me or Sonny or Emily. And I can't help wondering if maybe you're interested in her."

"Well, of course I'm interested in her. I just told you she's probably carrying my child."

Brenda rolled her eyes. "Jason, I realize that would make you interested in her general welfare, and the baby's, and – and all of that." She waved a hand dismissively. "But you seem interested in _her_ specifically. Not just as the possible mother of your child, and not just in her welfare, or in the baby's welfare, but in _her._"

He felt heat creep into his face. Sometimes Brenda was just too perceptive. Whatever he might have said was forestalled, however, when Sonny came down the stairs and asked, "Who is Jason interested in? Elizabeth?"

"See?" Brenda asked triumphantly. "Even Sonny noticed it, didn't you, Sonny?" She walked over to greet him with a kiss.

"That Jason's interested in Elizabeth? Yeah, that would be hard to miss, considering he spent the whole dinner party having intimate conversations with her." His voice was teasing, and Jason tried to think of a way to change the subject, but Sonny beat him to it. "But Brenda, it's none of your business, so maybe you should stop bugging him about it and let him figure it out for himself."

"When have you ever known me to do that?" Brenda countered pertly. "And why would you think I would start now?"

"True enough," Sonny sighed. He looked at Jason. "I tried, man, but we both know how Brenda is with stuff like this." Brenda smacked him lightly, but he sent her a charming smile. "What? You just admitted it yourself!"

"Well, you didn't have to agree with me quite so readily," she pouted.

"I know when to fold a losing hand, sweetheart, and with you on this particular hand, I can't win, so …" He winked at her and slid his arms around her, and she couldn't help laughing.

She looped her arms around Sonny's neck and glanced over at Jason before returning her gaze to her husband. "Well, as long as Jason admits he's interested in Elizabeth, and not just because of her baby or because she's family, I'll leave him alone about it. For now," she added, looking at Jason again. "Unless and until I think he's blowing it."

Jason rolled his eyes. "I like her, okay? She's a nice person who's been stuck in a crappy situation, and I like her, and she's becoming my friend. I can help her, and I _want_ to help her. So please leave it at that. And please don't start matchmaking, okay? She's not even divorced yet – she's barely been separated for a week."

She sighed dramatically and said, "I guess that's close enough. Even though I know you're more interested in her than you're admitting."

"Brenda…" Jason warned.

"Fine," Brenda answered. Jason glanced at Sonny and caught him with a thoughtful look on his face.

He didn't have to wonder about it for very long, because Sonny asked, "Why would Jason be interested in Elizabeth because of her baby?"

**New York City**

Lucky sat outside the Bobst Library at NYU, hoping to catch a glimpse of Maxie's sister. He had spent the better part of the morning figuring out which was the most likely library for her to visit, and had decided that this, the main campus library, was his best bet. If she didn't show up in the next couple of days, he would have to come up with another plan, but for now, he would just have to be patient. Even if his partner didn't have an ounce of patience in her, the only reasonable thing to do right now was to wait.

He sat on a bench in Washington Square across from the main entrance to the library. Stakeouts were boring – they always had been, and he periodically had to take a chance that he would miss her when he had to use a restroom or get some hot coffee. New York City was certainly windy and cold in late February.

After several hours, his patience was rewarded. Three women walked out of the library, laughing at something one of them said. The one on the left looked like his quarry, at least from this distance. He pulled out his camera, with the telephoto lens. He would've preferred binoculars, but Cruz had told him a long time ago that cameras were less conspicuous on stakeouts – you could always pretend to be taking a photography class if you had a camera. With binoculars, though – well, there really was no good explanation – you were either on a stakeout or stalking someone.

As he brought the woman into focus, he saw that it was, indeed, Georgie Jones with her friends. Getting up from the bench, he stretched and blew on his hands before he casually started strolling after them.

**Bloomington**

Joanna Walker flipped through the mail as she carried it back to the house. As usual, a lot of bills and even more junk mail and catalogs and things, and nothing of particular interest. Sighing, she tossed the stack on the kitchen table and wondered how she was supposed to keep holding on to hope.

They had been informed last week that although Isabella's sperm donor had been tested, he didn't match either. Her only hope now was that some random stranger would match, and she had already been told that the odds of that weren't good.

Depression threatened to overwhelm her, but since Mark had gone to pick up the kids and she expected them back any minute, she refused to give in to the urge to cry. She would do that later, when she and Mark were alone after the kids went to bed. She would cry in his arms, and he would tell her to keep the faith, that surely they would get their miracle, and that would keep her going for one more day.

She decided to make herself a cup of tea. She put the teakettle on and crossed to get the honey out of the cupboard. As she moved around the kitchen, the stack of mail caught her eye again, and she realized that the corner of what looked like a large envelope was sticking out between two of the catalogs – it must have been hidden by them earlier. The part she could see had a handwritten return address on it, so she guessed it wasn't junk mail.

She pulled the envelope out and glanced at the return address. It said "Emily Quartermaine Webber, MD, Pediatric Department, General Hospital, Port Charles, New York." Frowning with curiosity, heart suddenly pounding, she turned it over and slid her thumb under the flap. So intent was she on her task that she didn't even notice the paper cut she gave herself as she separated it from the rest of the envelope. When it was finally open, she pulled out a folded, thick, glossy page. A smaller piece of folded notepaper fluttered to the floor, and she paused to pick it up and open it.

There was no greeting. The note said simply, "Don't give up yet. We haven't. You are in our prayers. Sincerely, Emily Quartermaine Webber." Tears sprang to her eyes, and she dashed them impatiently away – she didn't know who this Emily Quartermaine Webber was, or why she cared, but it was so comforting to think that what was happening to her beloved daughter mattered to someone besides her own little family.

Turning to the larger paper, Joanna unfolded it, and when she realized what it was, she let out a loud sob, unable to hold back her tears any longer. Just then, she heard the door open, and she ran to greet her family, waving the poster and calling out through her tears, "Look, Mark, look what we just got! We might get our miracle after all!"

**The Island**

AJ lay on his back, hands behind his head, staring at the ceiling of his bedroom, and considered what to do about Courtney. He had come to the island in good faith, feeling optimistic that despite a rocky history that had led them to this point, they could start fresh and do what was needed to be good co-parents for their baby. He had hoped they would learn, over time, to respect and trust each other. Maybe even to love each other.

But now, he wondered if that would be possible. He hadn't expected to be welcomed with open arms, but he _had_ hoped she would have calmed herself down enough to greet him with some measure of forgiveness, or failing that, civility and courtesy and tolerance. Apparently, however, his new wife was holding onto both a grudge against him and an unrealistic dream of a future with Jason.

He had hoped that sheer boredom would lead her to join him for dinner last night, but it hadn't. So instead, he had dined alone and then found an AA meeting to help him deal with the disappointment and frustration he was feeling due to his lack of progress. One of his faults was that he often wanted – and expected – things to happen unrealistically quickly. He was beginning to realize that this was probably due to his upbringing as a Quartermaine, which had made him a little bit spoiled. He also was starting to understand that his impatience and low tolerance for frustration contributed significantly to his urges to drink himself into oblivion.

So it was important that he learn to cope better with problems like his wife's inability to be in a room with him without trying to provoke an argument. And he _was_ coming to terms with that, but if yesterday afternoon was any indication, there was another problem looming: it appeared that she was developing a relationship with one of her guards. He had watched the two of them talking on the beach. _Her_ body language had spoken of invitation … _his_, of interest, attraction, protectiveness. Considering that she had seemed to believe that she would eventually get Jason back, AJ had to assume that she was involved in some ill-conceived plan to use her guard in one way or another. AJ wouldn't care about that, except that he was concerned that she would convince the guard to help her get rid of the baby.

He wouldn't allow that to happen, whatever it took. As AJ considered this, he wondered whether he should discuss this with Sonny. Courtney really didn't care what AJ thought of her, but any anger she might be harboring toward Sonny due to his role in their wedding probably didn't negate the fact that she was dependent on Sonny for a lifestyle to which she had long ago become accustomed.

On the other hand, AJ thought, he himself had only just arrived on the island. Maybe if he could maintain a courteous and civil demeanor for a while, Courtney would eventually respond in kind. And he wasn't sure what would happen to the guard if he went to Sonny. He didn't want to be responsible for putting any man in the line of fire – literally or figuratively – simply because he was too young and inexperienced to recognize that Courtney was using him.

Mind made up, AJ decided to try again to establish some kind of good will with Courtney. Getting up from his bed, he went in search of his wife.

XXXXXXXXXX

Tony approached Tommy, who was on door duty, with a purposeful stride. He liked the kid, and therefore he wanted to give him a chance to get out of the mess he was digging himself into with the boss's sister. If the kid persisted on the course he looked like he was on, there would be nothing Tony could do to protect him from the fallout once the boss found out. And really, there was only so long he could delay telling the boss about the potential problem without risking being thought disloyal himself, so he was gonna try just once to nip things in the bud himself, but if Tommy didn't straighten himself up pretty quick, Tony was gonna have to protect himself and let Tommy fend for himself.

Now, he said abruptly, "You better watch yourself with the boss's sister, Tommy." Tommy started, and it looked to Tony like he was trying to look like he had no idea what Tony was talking about. He clarified, "I saw you with her on the beach yesterday. Take my word for it, that chick is nothing but trouble, and not just 'cause she's married. You ain't never gonna be acceptable to the boss for his only sister, so whatever you're doing, stop it now, before someone gets hurt. Probably you," he added pointedly.

"I – I appreciate you lookin' out for me, Tony, but nothing's goin' on between me an' Mrs. Quartermaine. She – she just sometimes needs someone to talk to 'cause she feels like she's all alone and her husband is a prick."

"Prick or not, he's her husband. And the boss says she's pregnant, too, so she ain't gonna be gettin' out of the marriage anytime soon. And, much as I like you, kid, I'm not goin' down to protect you from the boss if he finds out you're gettin' too friendly with his sister. So consider this your warning. Stop it now or I'm gonna have to tell the boss. And once I do that, I can't protect you from whatever consequences the boss decides to give you."

Tommy reddened. "I'm telling ya, Tony, nothing's happening. I ain't stupid, you know," he added defensively.

Tony remained firm. "Fair warning, Tommy. Get out of it before it's too late." Without giving Tommy a chance to respond, he turned and walked away.


	35. Chapter 34

_A/N: Sorry for the delay in posting. I'm teaching a new college class this fall and it's been eating up a lot of time. Updates will be slow for a while, but I promise to do my best to keep them coming. _

_Enjoy!_

**Chapter 34**

**New York City**

Lucky was confused and frustrated. He had been tailing Georgie everywhere since he had first seen her yesterday afternoon – to her classes, to meals, to a newpaper meeting, and finally back to her dorm room, then this morning to breakfast, another early class, and the library. He had not only seen no sign of Maxie – he had seen no indication that Georgie was expecting Maxie or had even thought about her sister.

Frowning, he tried to reconcile Georgie's behavior with the conversation he had overheard back in Seattle. It had certainly sounded to him like Maxie had already left to go see Georgie, and even if Mac had known he was listening, he had no reason to try to trick Lucky, since he didn't know about Lucky's affair with Maxie. Which meant that either Maxie had already been here and left, or that she had never come here in the first place and had lied to Mac. Either one was possible, Lucky supposed, although if she had been and gone already, that would have been an awfully short visit for such a long trip.

So that meant she had probably lied to her father. The frustrating thing was that it was still possible she would eventually show up here. As he recalled, she didn't like to lie outright to Mac – she much preferred to shade the truth just enough to make it palatable to her father. So despite the lack of any sign of Maxie, it was possible she had stopped somewhere else – somewhere she didn't want Mac to know about – but would eventually make her way here.

And because of that, Lucky still thought tailing Georgie was the most likely way to find Maxie, and therefore Elizabeth. Lucky no longer had ready access to the equipment he would need to access Maxie's credit card records, and although Cruz would probably do it for him, he would rather save that as a last resort.

It would have been so much easier if he could have just used her cell phone records to locate her, but unfortunately, that was handled by a different division of the Seattle PD, which meant he would have had to put in a work order and identify a specific case for which he needed the information. Since there was no plausible case he could cite, and Mac was sure to find out and ask about it, he couldn't go that route.

He decided he would just have to keep doing what he was doing – wait and watch – and hope that Maxie showed up in a day or two, with Elizabeth in tow.

**Port Charles**

Jerry smiled to himself as Sam continued to show her irritation with him. He found her ways of getting even amusing rather than annoying, as she obviously intended. He could well afford the expensive dinner she had ordered – there was only so much damage she could do considering she couldn't order expensive bottles of wine in her condition.

Her anger with him hadn't prevented her from being game for an enthusiastic round of sex when they had returned to the room, although she had initially tried to say she didn't want him. All he had had to do was talk for a few minutes about what he wanted to do with her and she just went ahead and jumped him. When it was over, she had rolled over and said, "Don't think this means you're forgiven, Jerry."

He had laughed and replied, "I wouldn't dream of thinking that, Sam. Although, if this is how you do 'mad', I have to say I find it rather rewarding."

She had huffed and gotten out of bed to go to sleep elsewhere – probably on the couch, since he didn't hear the door to the adjoining room close. The idea that she had stayed close amused him even more, and he had wondered if she was growing attached to him in spite of herself.

This morning, she had ordered a huge breakfast from room service, and then picked at it before deciding she wasn't all that hungry. He wondered when she would realize that spending his money wasn't going to faze him in the least – he had plenty, and there was always more to be had in his line of work.

If she didn't get over her snit soon, he thought he would probably entertain himself by trying to charm his way back into her good graces, but since she was currently still amusing him, and apparently still willing to sleep with him, he didn't care enough to try just yet.

A knock on the door pulled Jerry from his thoughts. Figuring that Sam wouldn't answer it, even though she was closer to it than he was, he stood and answered it. A bellhop said, "Special delivery for you, Mr. Jax." He handed over an envelope, and Jerry quickly tipped him and sent him on his way.

Closing the door, he spoke to Sam, although she was currently giving him the silent treatment and he didn't expect a response. "Oh, my friend at the FBI has sent us some information. Apparently, he must have found himself with time on his hands." Out of the corner of his eye, he saw her perk up, although she said nothing and tried to look disinterested. Opening the envelope, he pulled out a picture and a note.

Glancing at the picture, he did a double take as he recognized the face, then turned his attention to the note. Scanning it, he looked up at Sam and said, "Well, Ms. McCall, I know you aren't interested in speaking to me right now, but perhaps you'd like to know who your sperm donor was? Or, failing that, perhaps you'd be interested in why Corinthos-Morgan is investigating you?"

XXXXXXXXXXXX

Jason paced in front of his couch, waiting impatiently for Emily to answer her phone. He was way behind on things he had planned to do today. He had wanted to get over to his office at the warehouse and drop by the coffee house before lunch, and here it was, already eleven a.m., and he hadn't even left Harborview Towers yet. He had, however, gotten both Spinelli and Stan working on locating Lucky Spencer.

When Sonny had asked why Jason would be interested in Elizabeth because of her baby, Brenda had flashed him an apologetic look, apparently realizing that she had let the cat out of the bag with her determined teasing. So he had been forced to spend the next hour getting Sonny up to speed on everything that had been happening in his life since the day Monica had handed him the letter from the sperm bank all those weeks ago.

Sonny had seemed stunned at first, but then had asked if there was anything Jason needed from him to help him deal with all the upheaval in his life. Jason had started to refuse, but then had said, "Well, there is one thing … Can we put a guard on Elizabeth? I have a bad feeling that sooner or later her ex is gonna show up, and I don't want him upsetting her."

Sonny had seemed surprised that that was all he wanted, but had readily agreed. Even now, Johnny was on his way over to Emily's house to start the new assignment. Which was why Jason needed Emily to answer her phone.

Finally, his patience was rewarded when Steven picked up the phone. He apparently had glanced at the caller ID, because he said, "Hey, Jason, what's up?"

"Hey, Steven. I wanted to let you all know that Johnny's coming over to guard Elizabeth." Jason could hear laughter and chatter in the background, so he assumed that the rest of the family was home.

"Guard Elizabeth?" Steven's tone sharpened, and the background chatter suddenly stopped. "Why does Elizabeth need guarding?"

"Well, realistically, she probably doesn't, but I'm a little concerned that her husband is gonna come looking for her. He's pretty volatile and I don't want him upsetting her. So I'm sending Johnny over to keep an eye out, since he already knows what the guy looks like."

"Jason, I know what Lucky looks like, and I'm not gonna let him upset my sister. Johnny doesn't need to come here." Steven sounded a little offended that Jason was questioning his ability to protect Elizabeth.

He quickly set his brother-in-law straight. "Well, the thing is, Steven, you're not gonna be with Elizabeth 24/7, are you? I mean, you're still planning to work and all that, right?" Without waiting for an answer that they both already knew, Jason continued, "And anyway, you haven't seen Lucky in years, have you? So humor me, okay?"

Steven sighed. "Okay, I guess for the time being it'll be all right. But Jason, I don't think Elizabeth's gonna be too happy about this."

Jason heard her voice in the background, asking "What am I not gonna be happy about?"

Steven started to answer, but Jason interrupted. "Put her on, Steven, okay?"

"Yeah, okay."

There was a pause and then Elizabeth's voice came on the line. "Jason? Why does Steven think I'm not gonna be happy?"

"Because Johnny's coming over to be your personal guard." He made his tone the one he always used when he wanted no argument.

Naturally, it didn't work. It never did, with Elizabeth. He smiled as she very predictably said, "Jason, I don't need a personal guard. I'm here with my family, and no one is going to try to hurt me. Why would they?"

He decided to try reasoning with her. "Elizabeth, have you forgotten what happened in Seattle at Maxie's apartment? I'm concerned that Lucky's gonna come looking for you, and his temper is erratic at best, and you don't need to deal with that in your condition."

"Jason, I can handle Lucky. But he doesn't even know I'm here, so I doubt he'll be showing up any time soon."

"Don't count on it, Elizabeth. You didn't think it was necessary for Johnny to keep watch at Maxie's, either, and look how that turned out."

She sighed. "Well, Jason, I don't want someone following me around every minute of the day. So think of something else."

Reasoning wasn't working, so he changed his tactics – to simply insisting. "Look, Elizabeth, this is not up for discussion," Jason insisted. "You need a guard, at least until I can find out if Lucky's still in Seattle or not."

"Oh, and how are you gonna do that?" she countered irritably.

"I've got Spinelli and a private investigator looking into it even as we speak. So at least humor me for the next couple of hours, okay?" Abruptly, he decided the office could wait another day. "Look, how about when Johnny gets there, you and Maxie come with him and meet me for lunch? And then we can show you around town until we know for sure where Lucky is. Once we know that, we can decide whether Johnny needs to keep guarding you or not, okay?"

She still sounded disgruntled, but she acquiesced. "Let me ask Maxie, okay? Hang on a second." Jason heard a muffled conversation and then she came back on the line. "Okay, fine," Elizabeth said. "Where are we meeting you?"

"Tell Johnny to bring you to Kelly's."

"All right, we'll see you in a little while."

"Okay," he answered. As soon as he disconnected the phone, he called Sonny to let him know he wouldn't be at work today, after all, and then he headed down to the garage to get his bike.

**The Island**

After nearly an hour of looking for Courtney, AJ finally found her at the stables, of all places. She rode in from the beach at a full gallop, and came to an abrupt halt. For a moment, he was sure she was going to tumble over the horse's head and get crushed. He was also amazed that the horse appeared uninjured by the sudden stop.

He worked to get his fury under control. How dare she take such a risk with their baby's life? Riding at a slow, steady pace was one thing – he didn't think she needed to be denied _all_ riding– but riding hellbent for leather was another thing entirely. He took several deep breaths, as he watched someone come from the stables to start walking the horse to cool it down.

She tried to brush past AJ without a word, but he stepped into her path, moved to block her next several attempts to go around him, and waited until she looked up at him. His voice carefully controlled, he said simply, "If you can't ride in a way that is safe for you and the baby, you won't ride."

"It's none of your business how I ride," she yelled back. "I'm an adult and I can do whatever I want."

"If you were an adult, Courtney, you wouldn't be behaving like a spoiled child whose favorite toy just got broken. Now, either ride sensibly, or don't ride. I'll call Sonny and ask him to get rid of the horses if necessary."

She sneered, "Sonny won't do it. Brenda loves the horses." She moved past him, and this time he let her, turning to follow her back to the house.

"Sonny has other properties, Courtney. The horses can be moved, and when I explain to him why, I'm sure he'll be more than happy to let me move them for him."

She said nothing to that, just kept stalking toward the house. He followed her as she went toward the kitchen and called out, "Carmen, I need a martini! Make it a double and make it quick!"

Carmen, the housekeeper, looked surprised, considering it was just barely noon, but nevertheless started to go to the liquor cabinet, but AJ stopped her in her tracks with two words. "She's pregnant."

Her eyes flew to him and she stammered in her accented voice, "I so sorry, Senor AJ, I had no idea! I been making her drinks every day since she got here."

"It's not your fault, Carmen. However, obviously she can't be trusted with alcohol in the house, so please see to it that all of it is removed from the house within the hour. You can give it away or dump it, I don't care, just as long as it's gone."

He could see that Courtney was getting more frustrated by the minute. She stomped off to the kitchen. He followed more slowly, gathering his fortitude for what she would try next. He heard her call out to the cook. "Maria! I desperately need some sushi tonight for dinner. Can you call the casino and order me a spicy tuna roll and an assortment of sashimi – and I want all raw fish, nothing cooked. Oh, and have them send over some chocolate mousse, too – I want that for dessert."

Maria had the phone in her hand and had already punched in several numbers when AJ reached her and gently removed it from her hand. "Maria, from now on, I need to know everything that Mrs. Quartermaine asks to eat before you give it to her. She's pregnant and she tends to forget that not everything she loves is good for the baby."

Courtney reddened and let out a little scream of frustration. "AJ, I can eat whatever I want! And considering that I don't want this stupid baby –" AJ almost smiled when Maria gasped and made the sign of the cross at that sinful statement, "— I'm going to eat everything I can think of that's bad for it, and you can't stop me! You can't watch me 24/7."

"No, I can't," he said pleasantly, "But I can make sure that you don't have access to anything that hasn't been approved by me. And if you don't believe me, try me."

Courtney screamed again, then stomped out of the room. He shrugged at Maria, then followed once more.

He flinched when he heard her bedroom door slam seconds later. He hoped she would calm down enough to eat a reasonable lunch.

XXXXXXXXXXX

Courtney stomped around her room, trying to tamp down her rage. Her plan was going so far wrong she wasn't sure it could be salvaged. All her efforts to piss off AJ were just making her look juvenile, while they made him look amazingly tolerant and patient for putting up with her.

She wished she hadn't drawn attention to the alcohol. It was going to be awfully hard to get AJ to drink if there was no alcohol in the house. If she had realized that he would just get more icily determined, she wouldn't have taken this tack in dealing with him.

She had to get rid of this baby, otherwise Jason would continue to deny his feelings for her. He hated AJ so much that he would never be willing to be with a woman who had borne the man a child.

She paced back and forth, trying to figure out what to do now that her original plan had gone so far awry. As she calmed down, she realized she had only one choice.

She would have to make nice with AJ, get him to let his guard down, and then get Tommy to help her destroy him.

**Port Charles**

Johnny held the door as Elizabeth and Maxie stepped into the little diner where he said Jason would be meeting them. Elizabeth looked around, and her heart skipped a beat when she saw Jason seated at a table waiting for them. He looked up and smiled as she approached, and she hoped he didn't notice her blush as she smiled back.

Jason stood to pull out a chair for her and asked, "How are you feeling today?"

Her smile widened and she said, "I feel good. I'm starving, though." She sat and waited while he sat back down, leaving Maxie and Johnny to fend for themselves. She absently noted that Johnny's attention, which had been divided between them on the way here, was now focused solely on Maxie. She supposed that Johnny figured Jason would look out for her while they were all together.

Jason's smile grew, and he said, "Well, you've come to the right place, then. Pretty much everything is good here." He handed her a menu and asked, "How are things with Steven and Emily?"

"They're good," she replied, pleased to be able to honestly say that. "They're making me feel really welcome. Steven seems much more relaxed and much – warmer, I guess, than I remember him being. And they seem so happy together – I mean, he just dotes on her, and she's always touching him. It's really sweet. And I met the kids this morning – they are so adorable! They seem really smart for their ages, and it's great how Paige looks out for Jack, you know?" Noticing that he was smiling indulgently, Elizabeth felt her cheeks go pink again as she said, "Sorry, I know I'm rambling, but it's just such a relief that it's starting out well. But I want to find my own place quickly, so I don't overstay my welcome."

Jason frowned at that. "Elizabeth, I would feel a lot more comfortable if you stayed with your brother for a while." She started to protest, but he forestalled her. "Elizabeth, at least until we're sure you're free of your husband, it would just be better if you're not living alone."

Elizabeth frowned back at him. "But Jason, that will be months! I need to find a job and get my own place long before I can get a divorce finalized." Her frown deepened as she realized another problem. "And how am I gonna get a divorce without letting Lucky know where I am, anyway? Maybe I should just let him know and get it over with …"

Jason broke in before she could finish the thought. "Absolutely not," he insisted. "Lucky needs a cooling off period before you have any contact with him. In fact, I would suggest that it might be better to just present him with the divorce when it's already final."

Elizabeth asked uncertainly, "Is that even possible? I thought there had to be notice and all that. I suppose I'll have to get a lawyer, won't I?"

"We can fly you to the Dominican Republic and get you a divorce in a day, no notice required." Elizabeth wondered briefly at the fleeting hard look on Jason's face, but he continued speaking, "We could leave tomorrow, if you want."

"No, we can't," she said firmly. "For one thing, I don't have a passport. For another, I don't think it's fair to Lucky to do it that way."

Even though Jason's expression didn't actually change, she could almost imagine he was mentally rolling his eyes. He said only, "Well, we should get you a passport, regardless, in case you change your mind."

"Jason, that'll take weeks. It would make more sense to just start divorce proceedings. Do you know a good lawyer?"

She didn't know why that amused him, but he smiled so she assumed it did. "We can drive down to New York and get you a passport in one day, Elizabeth. And yes, I do know a good lawyer."

"I don't need a passport that fast, Jason. I don't think I need it at all," she said. "I'm not gonna be traveling overseas any time soon."

At that point, Maxie interjected, "Oh, Elizabeth, you should always be prepared to travel. And anyway, wouldn't it be fun if you came down to the city with me when I go see Georgie? You could meet her, and get your passport, and we could do some sightseeing. You haven't been there before, have you?" Jason's phone rang and he stood to take the call outside.

"Well, no, but –" Elizabeth started to object, but Maxie kicked her under the table and gave her a look, then pointedly glanced toward Johnny, who had gone to the counter to get them menus. Elizabeth realized that, if Johnny continued guarding her, the only way he could go to New York would be if she went, and Maxie obviously really wanted him to go. So she amended, "Well, I guess it wouldn't hurt to take a short road trip …"

Maxie smiled, apparently satisfied. "Oh, yay!" she exclaimed. "It'll be so much fun, you'll see! And really, once the baby comes, it'll be much harder for you to travel, and don't you want to see the art museums in New York? The Met, the Guggenheim, the MOMA?"

Elizabeth laughed, "Yeah, and I'm sure the shopping won't hurt, either," she teased.

Maxie laughed and then said cheerfully, "I'm selflessly thinking of you, Elizabeth."

Johnny rejoined them in time to catch that exchange. "Yeah, right," he said, winking flirtatiously. "Next thing she'll be telling us is that she wants to spend some time in a soup kitchen."

"Hey!" Maxie protested. "I really do think Elizabeth will have fun, and I agree with Jason that she should have her passport just in case."

Jason rejoined them, and when Elizabeth saw the look on his face, she knew the news wasn't good. "What's the matter?" she asked, not sure she wanted to know.

"Lucky flew to New York City yesterday. My investigators are trying to trace where he went from there, but until we track him down, I really need you to be with Johnny or your brother or me at all times. Please," he added when she started to protest.

She sighed. "Okay, for now, I'll go along with it, Jason. But not forever. Even if you don't find him, I can't handle having someone with me all the time forever."

He reached out and squeezed her hand. He said, "We'll find him soon. I promise."

His voice was soothing, but again she thought she heard a hard undercurrent, and for a brief moment, Elizabeth almost feared for Lucky's safety. But then she shook the odd thought aside as Johnny spoke up cheerfully, "So, I guess we'll plan a road trip to the Big Apple. I'll take care of the tunes. I nominate Jason to be in charge of snacks." Elizabeth couldn't help giggling at his mock military tone, which was at odds with his lighthearted words. "Spinelli can come along to run the GPS, and just in case we need to hack any big computers. Elizabeth, you can be in charge of planning the itinerary. Just include the passport place along with whatever museums you want, and whatever shopping Maxie can talk you into."

"What about me?" Maxie asked, sounding mildly insulted. "I need to be in charge of something, too."

"Well, Maxie, darling, you're providing the class and beauty to our little outing," Johnny flirted. "Oh, and you're in charge of making sure that Elizabeth doesn't drag us to the opera. Anything but opera," he warned in a deadly tone.

The two women cracked up, while Jason rolled his eyes and pulled out his phone to call Spinelli.


	36. Chapter 35

_A/N: T__hanks so much for the patience and also the lovely feedback. The class I've been teaching (a senior-level psychology seminar on evaluating and treating addictive disorders) is writing-intensive for the students, which translates into grading-intensive for me! So, bear with me for the rest of the semester, please! Hopefully, my schedule will ease up and I'll be able to write more then …_

**Chapter 35**

**Port Charles**

Sam waited impatiently while Jerry finished his phone call. She couldn't believe what he had told her yesterday afternoon. Her unborn child was the son or daughter of one of the richest, most powerful men on the east coast?

She just couldn't believe she had gotten so lucky. But he had insisted he recognized the picture, and he had proceeded to spend the entire afternoon on the phone with various contacts, trying to learn everything he could about the man. She also couldn't believe that they had stumbled across the likely reason why Corinthos-Morgan was investigating her.

Once they had all the information they could get about Jason Morgan, they would figure out how to put it to use to make as much money as possible. Maybe he would buy the baby or something.

Jerry finally hung up and turned to her. "Well, Samantha, darling, it seems we've stumbled into a potential gold mine. Jason Morgan is, as I told you yesterday, both wealthy and powerful. He's apparently extremely loyal to those he considers family, and also quite unforgiving when he, or anyone he's close to, is crossed. He's also extremely generous with people he cares about. Which, as I see it, means that we simply have to get him to consider you family, and then he'll almost certainly give you anything you want, which you, of course, will share with me."

"Is he married? Or otherwise attached?" Sam paused, considering, then added, "What I don't get, Jerry, is why someone who's so devoted to family would have been a sperm donor in the first place. Are you _sure_ it's him?"

"Well, darling, apparently the man was in a car accident years ago, which led to amnesia for his life before, as well as a dramatic shift in his personality and his loyalties. He made the donations before the accident. And no, he's definitely not married. Apparently, he had a casual relationship with Corinthos' sister, but they seem to have had a falling out and she recently married AJ Quartermaine."

"Oh," she said. "How does he even know about me, or, for that matter, the sperm donations, if he has amnesia?"

"I'm not entirely sure, darling, but I don't believe in coincidence, so that's the most reasonable explanation for why he's been looking into your background. Unless, of course, you know something else that you haven't shared with me?"

"No, Jerry, I told you, I've never run across Corinthos-Morgan or anyone involved with them before this. So I guess it must be the sperm donations."

"Well, considering the man's reputation, we must be extremely careful not to tip him off to the fact that we're planning anything that involves him."

"Do you and I need to have a public argument or something?" Sam asked. She was surprised to find that she didn't really like the idea that she would have to avoid Jerry. She glanced at Jerry. "How does he treat women?"

"Well," Jerry replied, answering her second question first, "By all accounts, he's devoted to Brenda Barrett Corinthos, who you've met, and to his sister, Emily Quartermaine Webber. He also doted on his grandmother before she died, but he merely tolerates his mother."

"No, I don't mean family – I mean _women_. Does he go for sluts? Damsels in distress? Maternal types? Girls next door? Does he like blondes or brunettes or redheads? Is he into smart women or dumb ones? If I'm going to become the woman of his dreams, I need to know what that is."

"Ah, so _that's _how you went after Jax. Let me guess, you were smart and amusing and independent with just a hint of sex on display."

She rolled her eyes. "Can we forget about Jax, please? I need to focus on Jason Morgan. Our plan needs to be foolproof, since I have no intention of winding up dead at the end of all this, and I assume you plan to live through it, too."

"Of course, darling. The man will never know what hit him. Unfortunately, it's hard to say what he looks for in a woman. Thus far, his longest relationship was with Corinthos' sister, and from all accounts, he wasn't all that broken up when she up and married his brother. Sadly, the man apparently doesn't share personal information with anyone who might share it with us."

"Well, Jerry, we better figure something out. I can't go into this blind if we have any hope of it working."

"All right, darling, relax. I'll figure something out." He trailed a finger down her arm and added, "In the meantime, allow me to distract you."

She rolled her eyes. "Is that all you think about?"

"Of course, darling, except when I'm helping you plan this little con. Now," he said, pressing a kiss to her neck, "Are you sure you don't want to be distracted?"

And suddenly, she wasn't sure at all.

Damn him.

**The Island**

Courtney came down to breakfast resolved to make nice with AJ for the time being. She had done some serious thinking overnight, and had realized that it would be significantly easier to do what needed to be done if she could get him to trust her at least a little.

She really needed to get back to Port Charles to see Jason, and she had the definite feeling that Sonny wasn't going to let her come home until he heard that she was getting along with her husband – and from someone other than her. Plus, when she wasn't stuck on an island in the middle of nowhere, it would be so much harder for AJ to keep tabs on her every move.

It would be best if she could convince AJ that she had had a change of heart. Failing that, she needed Tony to believe she and AJ were getting along better, since she was pretty sure he was reporting back to Sonny. And of course, she also really needed to keep Tommy under her thumb, just in case she needed to take action here.

It was going to be tricky. She would probably have to "confide" in Tommy that she was trying to keep the peace with AJ because she was so afraid of him. She might even have to pretend to be in love with Tommy. She felt fortunate that such a gullible young man was around for her to use in her plans.

Meanwhile, it was time to start lulling AJ into a false sense of security, so she breezed into the kitchen and smiled at him. "Good morning, AJ."

He visibly started and did a double take at her cheerful greeting. Nevertheless, he smiled back and said, "Good morning, Courtney. You seem to be in a much better frame of mind than yesterday."

"Well," she said, "I did some soul-searching last night and I realized that even though I'm not really happy with the situation I'm in, I need to make the best of it. You were right – we do need to learn to get along for the baby's sake."

He watched her through narrowed eyes for a long moment, before replying calmly, "I'm glad you've come to that conclusion. I think it's best for everyone, and especially the baby, if we learn to be civil to one another." He paused, and when she merely smiled innocently, he added, "Would you like to have lunch with me at the casino this afternoon?"

"Yes," she replied, even though she thought she would really rather poke her eyes out with hot needles. "I would like that very much."

**Port Charles**

Elizabeth thoroughly enjoyed the afternoon with Jason, Johnny, and Maxie. They went all over Port Charles – besides Kelly's, they went to Wyndham's Department Store, where Maxie shopped and Johnny teased her mercilessly. They stopped in at an art gallery, and then Jason showed them the docks and the warehouses that housed the coffee business he and Sonny co-owned. The offices seemed rather low-key, but then, she didn't know much about importing businesses, and she supposed it was practical to have offices on site at the warehouse. Next, they drove past ELQ headquarters, which made Jason even quieter than usual, and then headed to the Metro Court hotel.

Late in the afternoon, they pulled up at General Hospital. "What are we doing here?" Elizabeth asked, curious.

"Well," Jason said, "You're planning to stay here in town for a while, aren't you?"

"Um, yes," she replied, confused. "At least, I hope so, if everything goes well."

"Then you'll need a doctor, and the best doctors are here at General Hospital."

"Oh," she said. "Well, there's no rush, is there?"

"No, but is there a reason to wait?"

"I guess not, but this has gotta be boring for Maxie and Johnny."

"No," Maxie chimed in, "It's fine. We might as well get you an appointment now, that way we can plan our trip to New York around that."

Elizabeth gave in. "Okay, let's go."

As they walked into the hospital, Elizabeth noticed something, and whispered a question to Jason. "Why is everyone staring at us?"

"Maybe they all wonder how Johnny and I got so lucky," he teased. "Two beautiful women escorted by regular guys like us."

Her cheeks turned pink. "Jason! That's not it and you know it! Do people always stare at you?"

"Well, since the accident, it happens sometimes," he allowed. "But who cares? We're not doing anything wrong, so let them stare if they want to."

They reached the desk, and Jason said to the nurse on duty, "We need an appointment for my friend to see Dr. Lee, as soon as possible."

Another woman, whose back was to them, turned at the sound of his voice. "Jason!" she exclaimed, and Elizabeth heard joy and anxiety intermingled in her voice. "I heard you were back. How was your trip?"

"It was fine," he replied simply. "I – I was gonna call you –"

"It's okay," she interrupted. "Emily said you were helping her sister-in-law get settled in." She looked curiously between Maxie and Elizabeth.

Jason said, "Yeah, I was." He gestured toward the two women in turn as he made the introductions. "This is Steven's sister, Elizabeth, and her friend Maxie. They're staying with Emily and Steven for a while." He turned to Elizabeth and said awkwardly, "This is – this is Monica Quartermaine, my – my mother."

"It's nice to meet you, Elizabeth, Maxie," Monica said brightly. "I'm sure I'll be seeing a lot of you while you're with Emily and Steven – I use any excuse to see my grandchildren, you know."

"It's nice to meet you, too, Dr. Quartermaine," Elizabeth said.

Maxie added, "Yeah, it's great to meet you. We were just getting Elizabeth an appointment."

"Oh," Monica frowned. "Are you all right? We'd hate for you to get sick just when you got into town."

"Oh, I'm fine," Elizabeth said cheerfully. "I'm – um – actually, I'm a little over three months pregnant, so we figured it would be a good idea for me to get a doctor here in town, since I'm hoping things will work out and I can live here permanently."

"Oh, that's wonderful," Monica said sincerely. "Congratulations! Is this your first?"

"Yes, it is," Elizabeth said, "And I'm alternately thrilled and terrified."

Monica laughed. "That sounds about right." Turning to the nurse, Monica said, "Amy, we need to get Elizabeth an appointment with Dr. Lee."

"Yes, Dr. Quartermaine, I was just about to say that we actually had a cancellation for tomorrow morning at ten, if that works for you?"

"Oh, um, yeah, I guess," Elizabeth said. "I just have to figure out how I'm gonna get here."

"Don't worry about that," Jason said.

Johnny added, "Yeah, one of us will get you here, no problem."

"Okay, now, I'll just need some information from you for our records," Amy said, handing her a clipboard. "You can sit over there in the lounge to fill this out if you want."

"Okay," Elizabeth said, then turned to Jason, "Listen, this will probably take a few minutes, so if you guys want to go get coffee or something, this would be a good time."

"I don't need coffee, but Johnny and Maxie might."

"Is the coffee any good here?" Maxie asked Johnny. "And remember, I'm from Seattle, so don't try to whitewash it."

Johnny laughed and said, "Why don't you see for yourself? The coffee shop is this way."

Jason said to Elizabeth, "Go ahead and sit down – I'll be right there. I just want to talk to Monica about something for a minute."

"Okay." Elizabeth headed over to the lounge and took a seat. As she began filling out her medical history, she couldn't help glancing over at Jason and his mother occasionally. They had stepped away from the nurses' station and were speaking quietly, their expressions serious. She repeatedly forced herself to suppress the curling heat that she was growing accustomed to feeling whenever she looked at Jason, and she briefly wondered what was going on, but then she got to a question on the form that she wasn't sure how to answer. She chewed on her lip, trying to decide what to write in the space marked "insurance information." Since her insurance was through Lucky's work, it seemed likely that to include it might be to give him a way to find her.

On the other hand, she wasn't really sure how she would pay for her medical care if she didn't include it. Sure, she had what seemed like a lot of cash that she had taken out before leaving Seattle, but babies were expensive, and she didn't want to spend it all on prenatal care.

Sighing, she skipped that question for now and continued filling out forms.

XXXXXXXXXX

Jason kept an eye on Elizabeth as he spoke with Monica. Mindful of Amy's presence, he kept his voice low as he said, "I hear everything's in place for the bone marrow drive. Thank you for working so hard on it."

"It was my pleasure, Jason. I'm just happy I can help you with this." She paused, not sure if she should ask what she was dying to know. Finally, she said, "You don't have to answer this, of course, but Emily says you've become – close – with Elizabeth. I was wondering … what if she goes back to her husband?"

"She won't," Jason said confidently. "She's realized that he was emotionally abusive and she doesn't want her baby to be raised in that environment. And we've become friends."

"But what if she decides that the baby needs contact with its father?"

He said even more quietly, "It wouldn't make a difference." Monica started to ask something more, but he said, "Trust me on this, there is nothing that will get her to go back to him. He has no claim to the baby, and he doesn't even know she's pregnant, which is how she wants it to stay."

He glanced over at Elizabeth and saw she was frowning at the form. He said to Monica, "Listen, I'll see you later, okay?"

"Yeah, okay. I have to get back to work."

He headed over to the lounge, where Elizabeth was still frowning at the form. "What did that piece of paper do to you?" he asked.

She started, then smiled at him. "Don't sneak up on me like that! And it's not the form's fault that I don't know what to put for half of this stuff."

"Why not? Don't you know your medical history?"

"I know _my_ medical history. I just don't know the medical history of the baby's father off the top of my head."

"Oh," Jason said. He debated whether he should tell her that he knew she had used a sperm donor, and that he thought he himself – or his alter ego, anyway – might have been that donor, but she spoke again before he could decide.

"Lucky couldn't – well, he – um, we had to use a sperm donor," she stammered, blushing. "So I have the information in a file somewhere, but I didn't memorize it or anything, and I'm not really sure where I packed it."

"Oh," he said. "There's something I should probably tell you."

"Oh, what's that?" she asked, curious.

"I – um –" Jason tried to figure out what to say, but again he was interrupted before he could get the words out.

"Are you done yet?" Maxie asked cheerfully, as she and Johnny returned from the coffee shop. "I brought you some ginger tea, since I know you like that." She handed Elizabeth the cup, adding, "Careful, it's hot."

"Thanks, Maxie." Elizabeth smiled. "And yeah, I'm done with these for now. But I'll have to dig through my stuff soon to find some information I need. Or I suppose I could just call the clinic and have them re-send it."

She started to stand, but Jason said, "Stay there and enjoy your tea. I'll bring the forms over to the desk." He took them from her and headed over to the desk.

Amy glanced through them, and immediately commented on their incompleteness. Jason said, "She has the information on the baby's father at home, so she'll bring that to her appointment tomorrow."

"What about her insurance information?"

"That's at home, too. For now, just bill me for anything her insurance doesn't cover."

"Oh, okay," Amy said. "That's awfully nice of you, Jason." Her voice held a question she apparently didn't dare ask.

He answered it anyway. "She's family." He left before she could speculate any further.

**New York City**

Lucky continued to watch Georgie for another day. He was becoming more and more convinced that Maxie wasn't coming, after all. Late that afternoon, he sat once again on the bench in the park across from the Bobst Library, waiting for Georgie to re-emerge.

He was surprised when a pair of cops approached him. The taller of the two asked aggressively, "Do you have any identification, sir?"

"What?" Lucky asked, bewildered about why they were talking to him. "Why do you need my identification?"

The shorter one said, "Sir, what are you doing sitting here?"

"What, isn't this a public bench?"

"Sir, please answer the question."

"I'm taking pictures." He waved the camera. "Last I heard, that wasn't a crime."

"Now, see, that depends on what you're taking pictures of, and what you're planning to use them for. May we see the camera, please?"

"Look," Lucky said, pulling out his badge, "I'm a cop from Seattle, and I'm trying to locate a witness in a crime back home."

"Well, sir," the shorter one said, "We haven't heard about anything like that, but we _have_ had a complaint from a student here that you've been stalking her. Now, why don't you come down to the station with us and we can straighten this out?"

Lucky protested, "What's to straighten out? I just told you that I'm on a case."

"But we have no official record of that," the tall guy pointed out. "What we do have is an official complaint against you. Now, I don't know how things work out there in Seattle, but here in New York, we take our citizens' complaints very seriously. So, why don't you gather your things and come with us?"

Finally realizing that he wasn't going to talk them out of this, Lucky stood and said, "Fine. But I really think this is a bit much, don't you?"

They ignored that, and walked on either side of him back to their police car.

_At least they didn't cuff me_, he thought wryly.


	37. Chapter 36

_A/N: Aren't you excited? I finished this chapter sooner than I anticipated – probably because we had a few days of mid-semester break. Thanks for all your support and feedback!_

Chapter 36

**New York**

Lucky couldn't believe his bad luck. He was sitting in the NYPD station house – he wasn't even sure what precinct it was – and he was trying to persuade the stubborn cops he was talking to that he was legitimately on a case. They wanted to call his supervisor in Seattle to confirm that, but Lucky had realized halfway here that he couldn't let them do that.

If Mac got wind of this, he was in deep, deep shit.

He had stalled by telling them that his supervisor was never available at this time of day, because he would be at the daily shift briefing. They were planning to call in half an hour, so Lucky needed to think fast. Unfortunately, his brain was stuck in panic mode – and not just because of Mac. Instead, he was also concerned because he was supposed to check in with his partner two hours ago. He had already been procrastinating when the cops had approached him because he didn't have the news she wanted to hear, but now, she would be getting antsy and impatient, which was never a good thing.

As he had the thought, his phone rang. Sighing, he asked the shorter cop, who was sitting across from him, "Is it okay if I answer this?" The man looked like he was about to refuse, but Lucky quickly added the first thing he could think of that might sway the answer in his favor. "Look, my wife is pregnant and I just want to make sure she's okay."

The man gave a terse nod and said, "Make it quick."

Relieved, he pulled the phone out and flipped it open. "Honey, is everything okay? The baby's all right?"

She snapped, "Why didn't you call me? And what do you mean, the baby? What baby?"

"Well, sweetie, I'm glad everything's all right. I'm here at the police station – they need to check things out to make sure I'm really on a case and not just some stalker following our witness around. So I'm gonna have to call you back in a little while."

"You got _arrested_?" She did _not _sound happy. "Do I need to come and bail you out?"

"No, not arrested, just asked to hang out here until they confirm what I told them. Now, I don't want you to worry. Just relax and I'll call you when it's all straightened out. Now, I gotta go. Don't worry, okay?"

"You better straighten this out, Lucky. This better not ruin all our plans. It better not."

She disconnected without saying goodbye, but he spoke again anyway, "Okay, sweetie, I'll talk to you later. Bye, now." He turned to Short Cop and said, "Thanks, she was worried because I usually check in with her every couple hours."

"No problem. Now, what time did you say the shift briefing is usually over?"

Lucky glanced at the clock. "It might be over by now. Do you want to call or do you want me to call and then put you on?"

"What's the number? I'll call."

Fortunately, Lucky's conversation had given him an idea. Cruz should be at his desk about now, and hopefully he wouldn't say anything to blow Lucky's story before he realized Lucky needed him to cover for him. Crossing his fingers, he gave Short Cop the number and waited.

**Port Charles**

After dropping off Elizabeth, Maxie, and Johnny, Jason headed back to the penthouse. He needed to talk to Sonny in order to head off the problem that was looming if Elizabeth had to give her insurance information to the hospital.

It wasn't just that Spencer might track Elizabeth through the use of the insurance. Rather, it was that he would also possibly discover that Elizabeth was pregnant, and then it would be that much harder to get him to agree to the divorce.

Unfortunately, Jason suspected that Elizabeth wouldn't allow him to pay for her medical bills, not even if she knew he was probably the baby's biological father. He would be lying to himself if he didn't admit that he was concerned about how she might react to that information. He would have told her earlier, had Maxie not interrupted them, because given the content of the conversation, he felt it would have been dishonest not to tell her.

Still, he was kind of relieved that he hadn't had the chance. He had a feeling that Elizabeth was going to be really angry – especially if she realized how he had discovered the information – and he was afraid that if she found out before she was really settled here, she would leave. And that wouldn't be any good for anyone, least of all her.

As he stepped off the elevator, his phone rang. He pulled it out and glanced, but didn't recognize the number. However, the area code was 212 – New York City – so he answered it. "Morgan."

"Mr. Morgan," a hushed voice said on the other end, "This is – a friend – from the Big Apple. I understand you wanted information regarding the whereabouts of a certain Seattle cop?"

"Yeah. Whaddya have?"

"He got pulled in on a stalking complaint over at the 2-5. They haven't arrested him – word is they're trying to call his captain on account of him saying he's trying to locate a witness."

"Who filed the complaint?"

"Lemme see … looks like it was phoned in by one Georgiana Jones. She's a student at NYU and said she noticed him following her for the past couple days." _Georgiana Jones … _Jason realized that this must be Maxie's sister Georgie.

"Okay, anything else?"

"Nah, not yet, but if you want I can call back when they get it straightened out one way or the other."

"Yeah, that would be good. And if they release him, can you get someone to keep an eye on him and let me know if he leaves town?"

"Yeah, sure thing, Mr. Morgan."

"Good. Listen, I owe you one. Anytime you wanna collect, call me from the phone you're on now."

"Yeah, thanks, Mr. Morgan. Glad I can help. I'll be in touch." The man disconnected, and Jason stood for a moment, considering the implications of this development. Apparently, Lucky had not yet figured out where Elizabeth had gone, but he suspected she might be with Maxie. Otherwise, why would he be tailing Maxie's sister?

The question was what to do about it. The fact that Spencer was getting close made it more imperative to get Elizabeth free of him quickly, which made the trip to New York more urgent. On the other hand, he didn't want Maxie or Elizabeth anywhere near Georgie as long as Spencer was tailing her.

He decided to talk to Sonny about it. But first, he called Johnny. When the other man came on the line, Jason said, "Spencer's still in New York – he just got pulled in on a stalking complaint by Maxie's sister. We got someone inside keeping an eye on things, but don't let Maxie make firm plans to see her sister until we decide how to handle this."

"Okay, sure thing, boss. I don't think Spinelli's gotten her the phone number yet, anyway."

"Good, call him and tell him to stall a little longer."

"Will do." Johnny paused. "I assume we still want to be watching in case he slips his tail?"

"Yeah. I'll let you know when we figure out our next move. I'm heading in to see Sonny now."

"Okay."

They disconnected, and Jason knocked on the penthouse door and let himself in.

Seeing his friend sitting at his desk, Jason said, "Sonny, I need to run something by you. Got a minute?"

"Sure, Jason, whatever you need. Want some coffee?"

XXXXXXXXXX

Elizabeth looked around the dinner table. This was the first dinner with only those who were staying at the Webber-Quartermaine house, and she was amazed at how comfortable it seemed. The children were delightful, with Paige asking a seemingly endless stream of questions about everything from Maxie's hairstyle to Elizabeth's baby to what Seattle was like, and Jack laughing delightedly at everything his big sister said, whether it was actually funny or not.

Steven was indulgently amused as he told Elizabeth and Maxie that they could call a timeout on the questions anytime they wanted to focus on eating. Emily went a step further, admonishing Paige to hold the rest of her questions until after dessert was finished. Elizabeth, however, insisted she didn't mind, and kept patiently answering whatever questions she could.

Johnny was outside on the porch, keeping watch. Emily had invited him inside for dinner, but he had declined, insisting that he couldn't keep watch quite as effectively if he was inside. Emily had acquiesced, but insisted on bringing him a dinner plate.

As much as she hated to admit it, Elizabeth really did feel safer with Johnny there. She had spent so long denying her own instincts about Lucky that defending him seemed to come automatically whenever anyone suggested anything negative about him. But to herself, she had to admit that she really had no idea what he would do – she had thought he would forget all about her, but that didn't seem to be the case, so she didn't know what to think.

When dinner was finished, Elizabeth stood to help clear the table, but Steven said, "Elizabeth, why don't you let Emily and Maxie handle that while we go get the kids ready for bed. You ladies don't mind, do you?"

They insisted they didn't mind, so Elizabeth continued answering Paige's questions through an entire bedtime ritual – bath, bedtime stories, and all. Finally, when the kids were settled, Steven said, "I've been wanting to talk to you since you got here, so why don't we go into the den?"

A knot formed in her stomach, but Elizabeth managed to nod. He gestured for her to go first, so she preceded him down the hall. She decided she didn't really want to hear him say the awful things that she had always suspected he really thought, despite how nice he had been for the last few days, so when they got to the den, she said, "You really don't have to worry, Steven. I can go to a hotel until I figure out something else –"

"Whoa, whoa," he interrupted. "Why would you leave when you just got here?"

"Well," she said, confused, "I know you don't like me and I appreciate that you were willing to let me stay for a few days. That was really decent of you, considering how you feel about me."

His frown looked confused rather than angry, and his tone sounded surprised when he said, "Elizabeth, I hardly know you. Did you think I brought you in here to kick you out?"

"Um … well, yeah, I guess … um … didn't you?"

"No, I didn't," he said firmly. "So let's get that out of the way right now. I don't want you to leave. I want you to stay with us as long as you want to, because I want a chance to get to know you. I'd really like to see if we can develop a brother-sister relationship – or, if that's too much, I'd at least like us to be friendly with each other. And before you ask, it's not just because it will make Emily happy – although that does happen to be a nice side benefit. But it _is _true that Emily made me realize some important things. She pointed out how awful I would feel if Paige were ever stuck and didn't feel like she could count on her family, because of some mistakes she made as a child."

Elizabeth was stunned. "That's – that's really good of you, Steven. I don't really know what to say."

"Well, let me finish first, okay? The thing is, looking back, I don't think the mistakes were just yours. I mean, I can't help thinking that if Sarah and I hadn't excluded you all the time, maybe you wouldn't have wound up marrying her ex-boyfriend. And based on what I've been hearing about him lately, I also wonder if maybe he took advantage of your youth and inexperience and loneliness. So I'm sorry that the way I – and the rest of the family – treated you left you vulnerable to a jerk like that." For a moment, he seemed concerned that his comment about Lucky would annoy her, but when she didn't respond, he took a breath, then added, "What I'd really like is if we could put the past behind us and take this as an opportunity to start fresh. Do you think we could do that?"

She stared at him for a long moment before answering. "I – I can't believe you're saying this. I mean, it wasn't your fault, not really. As you said, I was young and stupid –"

"I didn't say stupid," he protested, but she continued as though he hadn't interrupted.

"—and I was lonely, that's all true. But you and Sarah were closer in age, so it's only natural that you would be closer to her than to me. And that doesn't change the fact that I was so jealous of Sarah that I couldn't see straight – which is proven by the fact that I hero-worshipped Lucky for years, even though I had no idea who he really was. So you have nothing to be sorry for." She felt tears sting her eyes. "But I do. I'm sorry I was such a bad sister. And I would really love a chance to start fresh. Maybe I can make it up to you somehow."

He stepped closer and looked her straight in the eye as he said, "Let's agree on this – no more apologies. We both made mistakes, and we're both sorry for them." She started to protest, but he said, "To the extent that you feel you need to apologize, I forgive you because I don't think you did anything you need to apologize for, and anyway, it seems to me that the person who got hurt most was you." He held out a hand and as she took it, he said, "Starting now, the past is past, and we're focused on the future, okay?" She nodded slowly. "And I promise that from now on, you can count on me whenever you need me, okay?"

"O – okay, that sounds great. Thank you."

"You're welcome." He smiled suddenly and said, "Come on, this deserves a hug, don't you think?"

She gave a watery smile and said, "Definitely."

As she felt her brother's arms close around her, she realized she had really found her family at last.

XXXXXXXXXXX

"Well, where does he hang out?" Sam asked, frustrated. Jerry wasn't really coming up with anything specific, so she was starting to think she would have to go in blind after all. She supposed she could always start with "innocent damsel in distress" and, if that failed, she could move on to "sex kitten". One or both of those usually worked on most men. Now, she said as much to Jerry. "Does he have a rescue complex or a sex god complex?"

Jerry rolled his eyes. "Samantha, darling, we can afford to take our time here. I know you're impatient, but it's more important to get it right than to get it done fast. The baby isn't going anywhere, so that's always our trump card."

"Jerry, if I have to do some version of 'sex kitten,' it'll be a lot easier _before_ I gain a ton of baby weight."

"Unless he has a thing for pregnant women," Jerry pointed out calmly. "And my guess is that you could pull off 'sex kitten' five minutes before delivering the baby, so stop worrying. We'll get our money, one way or another."

That sounded like a backhanded compliment to Sam, but rather than take offense, she stayed focused on the issue at hand. "Okay, Jerry, maybe I can – who knows, since I've never tried? But what's the point of waiting if we don't even have a plan to get more information?"

"But, darling, I _do _have a plan. My investigative firm will start a rotating schedule of surveillance on Mr. Morgan, and we'll soon know more about him."

"Wouldn't someone in his line of work notice surveillance?"

"Perhaps, but my investigators are very, very good."

"All right, we'll play it your way for now," Sam said reluctantly. "But if we don't seem to be making progress in a few days, we're gonna have to reevaluate."

Jerry seemed amused as he said, "You really must learn patience, darling."

"I tried patience with your brother, Jerry, and that got me exactly nowhere."

"But, darling, it got you _here_, didn't it?"

She rolled her eyes and decided not to respond to that. "I'm taking a bath and going to bed. Good night."

"Good night, Samantha."

**The Island**

AJ lay on his bed, staring at the whirring ceiling fan once again. He found its steady rhythm soothing, relaxing even. It helped him think clearly.

Courtney was obviously up to something. She apparently credited herself with far more acting talent than she actually had – and _him_ with far fewer wits than _he_ actually had.

He didn't think she realized he was suspicious, though. He assumed that if she had known, she would have dropped the syrupy sweet voice and reverted to the unapologetic bitch she had been until a few hours ago.

So what was she trying to accomplish that required persuading him that she suddenly liked him? No doubt, she was lulling him into a false sense of security in service of some ridiculous plan to … _what? _

He pondered the question. Ultimately, she wanted Jason back, although knowing Jason even to the slight degree that he did, AJ knew she was living in fantasy-land if she really believed that would ever happen. One thing Jason was _not, _was forgiving, especially of those he had no real use for to begin with.

So, whatever plan Courtney had was doomed to failure, anyway, and AJ didn't really have to do anything to derail her ultimate goal. But he assumed that, in the interim, she either planned to use him or discredit him, or worse. And she most certainly planned to get rid of his baby, one way or another.

He was glad he had gotten the alcohol out of the house – the simplest way to discredit him would be to slip him a drink and knock him off the wagon. But still, she could be planning to con her guard into getting some more for her, so AJ resolved not to eat or drink anything he hadn't opened or prepared for himself as long as she was around.

That would also take care of the likelihood that she might attempt to poison him, which meant he only needed to guard against the possibility that she would obtain some other type of weapon to use against him. At least his refusal to lose his temper since arriving would make it harder for her to convince people that he was a danger to her physically, so she would have a tough time persuading anyone that she had killed him in self-defense.

As for using him, AJ wasn't entirely sure there would be a good way to do that in pursuit of the relationship she wanted with Jason. The only thing he could think of was that perhaps she thought that getting along with him now would allow her to go back to Port Charles sooner, which would put her in closer proximity to Jason. She might also believe she would have a better chance of getting an abortion in Port Charles than here on a private island owned by her brother.

It wasn't a _good _plan, exactly, but it was all his poor, deluded wife had to work with. That, and whatever she could get her foolish young guard to do for her.

Looking at it from all angles, AJ just couldn't see any other possible reason for her attitude adjustment. Sighing, he considered what to do – should he allow her to continue thinking her plan was working? Take her back to Port Charles and let it play out there? Or should he keep her isolated here awhile longer?

AJ fell asleep before he reached a decision. His last thought was that perhaps, as much as he hated to do it, it might not be a bad idea to get Sonny's opinion on the best course of action. In this case, at least, he and his wife's brother were on the same side.


	38. Chapter 37

_A/N: Thanks for your patience -- we're nearing the end of the semester, so I'm trying to sneak a little writing in before the final grading push ..._

_Enjoy!_

**Chapter 37**

**New York City**

Lucky tried not to let his anxiety show as the officer dialed the number Lucky provided. "The captain's name is Cruz."

"Okay," said the cop as he waited for the call to go through. Finally, the man spoke into the receiver. "Captain Cruz, this is Officer Nittoli from the New York City Police Department. I have here a man who says he's a detective in your division and he's here on a case?" Lucky surreptitiously crossed his fingers as the man fell silent. He tried to will Cruz not to blow his story. "Yeah, says his name is Lucas Spencer and he's conducting surveillance to locate a witness." There was a long silence, and Lucky had to keep reminding himself to breathe as he watched Nittoli listen to whatever Cruz might be telling him. Thank God the man was feeding Cruz the information rather than waiting for Cruz to actually supply it.

He let out a sigh of relief when Nittoli said, "Well, I appreciate that, Captain. Apparently the person he was watching made him, and she filed a stalking complaint. In the future, it might save us all some trouble if you let us know when you're sending someone into our jurisdiction. Now, maybe you'd like to tell us exactly who you're looking for?" Lucky wasn't surprised when Nittoli handed him the phone a moment later.

"Your captain wants to talk to you."

Lucky nodded and said, "Okay, thanks."

"Captain, sorry about the inconvenience," he said into the phone.

"Lucky, what the hell is going on? What are you doing in New York City? And who the hell filed a stalking complaint?"

Lucky chose his words carefully, aware of Nittoli's avid interest. "Well, Captain, I was watching Miss Jones like we planned to see if her sister got in touch and then might lead us to the witness."

"You're watching Mac's daughter? Are you insane? Although at least you had the sense to call me instead of Mac. But what if I hadn't answered? My voicemail identifies me as a detective, not a captain. And what makes you think Elizabeth's anywhere near Maxie, anyway?"

"Well, sir, she hasn't showed up yet, but it's the only lead we have. Unless someone there wants to run her credit cards again?"

Cruz sighed. "Yeah, okay, fine. I'll do that and get back to you. Tell the cop there whatever you want. I just said we had a case that involves some VIPs back here, so we sent you looking but we didn't want to tell anyone we were looking for a witness. And I said that's why we don't want an APB out. I also apologized for wasting their time. So whatever you tell them, make sure it fits with that story, okay?"

"Okay, captain, thanks. I'll check in later." Lucky hung up and turned to Nittoli to give the man a few more details that fit with the story Cruz had spun.

**Port Charles**

Jason paced back and forth in front of Sonny's desk, and Sonny was surprised at how agitated he looked. Finally, Jason paused and said abruptly, "Lucky Spencer is in New York City. He got picked up for tailing Maxie's sister." He immediately resumed pacing.

"Who's Lucky Spencer?" Sonny asked cautiously.

"Oh. Elizabeth's ex-husband – or he will be once I get Elizabeth to the Dominican Republic and get her a divorce."

"And why is he tailing Maxie's sister?"

"He must figure that Elizabeth is with Maxie, and maybe he thinks they're going to see Georgie."

"Okay, so what do you need from me?"

"I need to figure out how to get Elizabeth her divorce without Lucky getting wind of it ahead of time. He seems pretty out of control and obsessed with Elizabeth, and I don't want her upset."

Sonny thought about that for a minute, trying not to be distracted by Jason's continuing agitation. He was so used to Jason's typical stoicism that it was hard to focus with Jason pacing. "You sure you want to get involved with this?"

Jason shot him a look. "She needs me."

"In case you hadn't noticed, Jason, she has her brother to take care of her now," Sonny pressed, just to see what Jason would do.

"Steven would be out of his depth on this and you know it, Sonny. Elizabeth needs to feel sure that Lucky can never get near her or her baby, and Steven can't give that to her. I can." He stopped to look at Sonny, daring him to argue.

Sonny wanted to laugh, but instead asked cautiously, "Well, do you think he's a danger to her or is he more of a nuisance?"

Jason sighed and resumed pacing. "Honestly, Sonny, I don't know. Based on what she's said, he pretty much spent their time together either ignoring her or criticizing her, so I'm not even sure why he seems so set on having her back." He paused, then said irritably, "What I'd like to do is ensure his permanent absence, but Elizabeth is probably too softhearted to appreciate that. I don't want her upset."

"Yeah, you mentioned that," Sonny replied. "So you don't want to do anything drastic. You said something about taking her to the Dominican Republic for a divorce?"

"Yeah, but if I remember right, both parties have to agree to it or we can't get the quick action we want, and the problem is, I want to present Spencer with a done deal, not gear him up for a fight and let him know where she is at the same time."

"Yeah, I can see that, and you're right about the agreement issue. When I was thinking about divorcing Lily, Alexis researched it, and she said that I would need Lily's agreement to it. Without that, it turns into a big legal battle and takes as long as it would anywhere else." He paused, considering. "So what you really need to figure out is whether to _get _Spencer's agreement, or to fake it."

"Yeah, I guess so," Jason agreed. "What do you think?"

"I'm assuming you don't want Elizabeth to know anything about this?"

"Right. I don't think she'd be comfortable with either presenting false evidence in court or any means of persuasion I might have to use on Spencer. And he's never gonna agree to it without persuasion."

"Yeah," Sonny said. "So either way, you'd have to convince her that Spencer's agreement was voluntary."

"Which she might believe, since she keeps thinking he's just gonna let her go anyway, and being surprised when he shows signs that he won't."

"Well, in that case, you might as well try to persuade him. If you can get his signature on the right paperwork, at least she'll recognize it as his." He paused. "If he doesn't agree, then you can always falsify the papers. You just have to be absolutely sure that she never comes into contact with him, so there's no chance she'll find out how you persuaded him."

Two phones interrupted their conversation. Sonny glanced at the caller ID and answered his immediately, while Jason paused to step out onto the balcony before doing anything.

Sonny said, "AJ? Is Courtney all right?"

"Yeah, she's fine, physically at least." AJ said, sounding hesitant.

"What does that mean?" Sonny demanded suspiciously.

"Listen, I'm not sure I should be calling you, but you know her better than I do, and I'm just not sure how to handle this. If you'd rather I figure it out on my own, though …"

AJ's voice trailed off. Sonny sighed and said, "I've been hearing some things. She doesn't seem entirely happy with her situation. You wanna fill me in on the details?"

"Well, the short version is, she's convinced herself that, if not for the baby – and me, I suppose – Jason would realize he loves her and they'd wind up in some happily-ever-after fairy tale."

Sonny asked cautiously, "What's the long version?"

"Well, she started out by trying to antagonize me, and sucking up to one of her guards. I think she was hoping I'd lose my temper and start drinking again, so she was doing everything she could to try to piss me off."

"Like what?" Sonny asked. He had heard some of this from Tony, of course, but he wondered how much AJ's version would match what Tony had told him. Another thought occurred to him. "And which guard?"

"Look, I don't want to get him into any trouble, so I'd rather not say at this point. I thought I'd have a talk with him myself and see if he backs off. As to what she's doing, she's been trying to do all the things she can think of that pregnant women aren't supposed to do."

Sonny let the issue of the guard go for the moment. "For example?"

"Riding hellbent for leather, drinking martinis, eating sushi …"

"You're letting her drink?" Sonny interrupted.

"No, Sonny, I'm not," AJ said patiently, then explained. "Apparently she hadn't told the staff she was pregnant and she was getting them to fix her martinis before I arrived. I put a stop to it as soon as I found out, of course, and the staff now knows she's pregnant and that she's not to do anything that might harm the baby. I also told them to get rid of all the alcohol in the house. They understand that if they have any doubt about anything she asks to do or have, they're to clear things with me."

"Good," Sonny said, once again feeling a grudging respect for AJ. "So what do you need from me?"

"Well, she's changed tactics now. She turned on a dime and now she's acting like she wants to get along and make things work for the baby's sake."

"And you don't trust it."

"No, I don't. I've been trying to think the way she's thinking, and considering that there's no doubt in my mind that she still wants Jason, I think she's hoping I'll take her back to Port Charles, where she figures she'll have more freedom. I think she's planning to get away from me, one way or another, and to get rid of the baby, whatever it takes. She no doubt figures those will be easier to accomplish if she's not isolated on an island and surrounded by people who are loyal to you. And of course, she figures proximity to Jason will help her get back in his good graces. I tried telling her that he's never gonna want her back, but she's so fixated on him that she refuses to believe me."

Sonny considered that. After a long moment, he said, "Yeah, you're probably right. She's always been irrational where Jason's concerned. He told her from the beginning that anything they had would be temporary, but she built up a whole future for them in her mind, and she won't let go of it no matter how much everyone tells her it's not gonna happen. And you're right, he's never gonna want her back."

"So, do I keep her here and keep trying to control her so she doesn't do serious harm to the baby? Do I bring her home? You know her better than I do, so if you're willing, I'd like your opinion on this. If nothing else, I think you and I agree that we both want to protect the baby."

Sonny said, "Okay, yeah, we're definitely in agreement about that. No child should ever be made to suffer because of the mistakes of its parents. And even though she's my sister, I have to protect her baby first. If she was thinking clearly, that's what she would want, too." That last statement gave him an idea, and he thought for a long moment, then smiled. "Okay, here's what we're gonna do…"

Meanwhile, on the balcony, Jason listened as his contact in New York said, "Spencer was released without any charges being filed. Seems he convinced them that he was on a case."

Jason sighed. "Where'd he go?"

"He got a room in a fleabag motel. Guess he figures that there's no point in continuing to watch tonight, considering she made him."

"Okay, keep me posted."

He disconnected the call, and spent several minutes trying to figure out what Spencer's next move might be. He'd want to keep surveillance on Georgie, but Jason's informant was right – there was no point now that Georgie had made him. When he finally saw Sonny hang up the phone, he headed back inside.

**New York City**

Lucky lay on the bed in the cheap motel. He tried to decide what to do. He hoped that Georgie Jones would be too busy to follow up on her complaint now that he wasn't tailing her anymore. He hoped she would forget all about him. If the New York cops told her that he was here from Seattle on a case, she was sure to mention it to Mac, and that would certainly spell trouble.

Plus, he only had a few days left before the week Mac had given him would be up. He had to be back in Seattle by then – if he wasn't, he'd be jobless as well as deep in the debt Elizabeth had left him with. For the first time, he began to doubt the wisdom of letting his partner call all the shots for all these months and years. Sure, the potential reward was big, but what if he couldn't pull off his part in it?

As he thought about that, his phone rang. His heart leaped into his throat due to his fear of her reaction to the news that he was no longer tailing their only lead to Elizabeth's whereabouts. He answered, then let out the breath he had been holding when he realized it was Cruz.

"Lucky, man, I hope you know what you're doing. We'll both be in deep shit if any of this gets back to Mac."

"I know, I know," Lucky said. "I just need a few days more, and I'm sure I'll find Elizabeth and get everything back on track."

"Well, I hope you're right about that," Cruz said, sounding skeptical. "Anyway, I ran Maxie's credit card. She used it in upstate New York a couple of days ago. A salon in a town called Port Charles. That's the one and only time she's used it since Elizabeth left."

Lucky started and sat up. "Did you say Port Charles?" he asked, just to be sure.

"Yeah, Port Charles. Why, you know it?"

"Elizabeth's brother lives there," Lucky murmured thoughtfully.

"Well, why the hell didn't you check there first?" Cruz asked irritably. "It makes a hell of a lot more sense that she'd go to her own family than to Maxie's."

"Last I heard, she didn't get along with her brother," Lucky snapped back. "And anyway, I called there a few days ago, and her sister-in-law swore they hadn't heard from Elizabeth."

"Well, I'm guessing she wasn't entirely truthful," Cruz said sarcastically. "I wonder why."

"Yeah, whatever," Lucky said. "Anyway, thanks for the info. I'll be in touch."

He hung up abruptly, not giving Cruz a chance to reply. He debated with himself for a moment, then finally decided that he couldn't avoid it. Opening his phone, punched up her number, and then waited while it rang. Finally, she answered, sounding irritated. Why was everyone so annoyed with him these days anyway?

"Well? What happened?"

"I got released, but that's not why I'm calling." He paused, then plunged in. "I think she's in Port Charles."

He held the phone away from his ear to avoid any damage from her high-pitched scream of outrage.

**Port Charles**

The next morning, as Elizabeth was getting ready to go to her doctor's appointment, her phone rang. Seeing it was Jason, she felt her pulse leap slightly, and frowned as she realized her hormones were getting way out of control if the mere prospect of talking to him made her react like that. She tried not to sound breathless as she said, "Hello?"

"Hey. Listen, I'll pick you up for your appointment in half an hour, okay?"

"Yeah, sure. But I thought Johnny was gonna take me?"

"Well, Johnny needs to rest now and then, and he was there all night, so …"

She frowned. "What do you mean, he was here all night?"

"Elizabeth, we discussed that you need to be guarded at all times until we know where Lucky is."

"But Steven was here, so why did Johnny need to be here, too?"

"I assume Steven was sleeping. You need to be with someone who's _awake_, Elizabeth."

"That's ridiculous, Jason. Lucky's not going to sneak in in the middle of the night and – and kidnap me or something!"

"Listen, can we talk about this when I see you?" he asked patiently. "I just got out of the shower and I'm dripping all over my carpet." Unbidden, the mental image of Jason, naked and dripping wet sent a thrill through Elizabeth.

She ruthlessly suppressed the image and the thrill, and said in a disgruntled tone, "Fine. I'll see you soon."

His voice dripped with amusement. "Okay, Elizabeth, see you soon." He hung up before she could reply.

Elizabeth shook her head and returned her attention to the makeup she had been putting on before his call.

As she went downstairs to find some breakfast, the house phone rang. Emily called, "I'll get it!"

Elizabeth started to fix herself some eggs, then decided to see if Johnny wanted any. He must be hungry if he'd been there all night, she thought. As she opened the door to the porch, she saw that Maxie had beaten her to it, as the two were sharing a bagel. She noticed that Johnny's eyes never stopped scanning the area, and realized for the first time how seriously he was taking the duty of guarding her.

Wondering if he knew something she didn't, she quietly closed the door.

Just then, she heard Emily call out, "Steven! It's Sarah! She wants to talk to you!"


	39. Chapter 38

_A/N: Sorry for the long delay – I've been pretty blocked on this story. But hopefully, the muse will return for a while, and maybe I can get the story back on track..._

_As always, reviews are greatly appreciated …_

**Chapter 38**

**Port Charles**

When Jason picked Elizabeth up for her doctor's appointment, she was unusually quiet and solemn. He spent the first few minutes of the drive trying to patiently wait her out. Finally, when he couldn't stand it anymore, he asked, "Why so quiet? Are you still mad about Johnny?"

She started and looked at him. "What? Johnny? What about him?"

"What do you mean, what about him? I thought you wanted to argue with me about why I shouldn't keep him up all night guarding you."

"Oh, that. Well, you shouldn't. Lucky may not be the best husband in the world, but he's a cop. He isn't going to hurt me."

"Well, I don't want him anywhere near you. He's volatile and unpredictable and I don't want him to upset you. Not now, while you're pregnant." _Or any other time, for that matter, _he added silently. Aloud, he changed the subject, "Okay, so if it's not that, then what has you so distracted?"

"Oh," she said. "Well, Sarah called this morning, and it just brought back a lot of old issues."

"Sarah?" he asked. "Your sister?"

"Yeah, my sister," she said, her tone heavy with irony. Before he could comment, she started speaking rapidly. "Except she's hated me since the day I was born. And it was always her and Steven on one side and me on the other, and things have been going so well for me and Steven – he even told me last night that he wants to start over and develop a new relationship! Like a real brother and sister, you know? Anyway, we're just starting to move forward, and I'm just afraid that Sarah will convince him to … I don't know, change his mind or something."

"He's not gonna change his mind," Jason said firmly.

"You don't know that. You don't know _Sarah_," she insisted.

"I've met her," he interjected. "Blonde, right? Kind of a snob?"

She looked at him, startled. "You've met her? When? Why didn't you say?"

"Because it wasn't important. I met her at Steven and Emily's wedding."

"Great, now _you'll_ be on her side, too," Elizabeth moaned, slumping into her seat.

"Why would you think that?" he asked.

"Because everyone's always on Sarah's side." She hated that she sounded like a whiny child.

"Define everyone," he said bluntly, brows furrowing with annoyance.

"Steven, my parents, Lucky, and now you. Probably Emily, too, since she's probably on whatever side Steven's on. The only person in my life who ever took my side was my grandmother."

"Really? Where's she?"

"She died when I was 15, a couple of months before I started dating Lucky."

"Really," he said thoughtfully. It wasn't a question, just an acknowledgement, and she looked at him curiously. He said, "Well, in any event, I'm not on Sarah's side. I will _never_ take Sarah's side against you."

"Really? But – _everyone_ loves Sarah. Why wouldn't you take her side?"

"_I_ don't love Sarah. I didn't even _like_ Sarah when I met her. She seemed spoiled and selfish and shallow, and I couldn't wait to get away from her. You, on the other hand, I like. And you're family."

She frowned at that. "If I'm family, she's family, too."

He didn't think this was the time to mention that he was probably her baby's biological father, so he said instead, "Yeah, but she's family the way Edward and Alan Quartermaine are family – in an annoying, 'I have no choice but to deal with them every now and then' kind of way. You, on the other hand, are family in the way that Emily and Brenda are family – in the 'I would still choose to be around you even if you weren't actually related to me' kind of way."

She digested that for a moment, and then he was rewarded by a smile lighting up her face as she patted his hand. His nerve endings tingled where she touched him. "I like you, too, Jason. And I would still choose to be around you even if you weren't related to me."

He didn't want to follow this topic any further, so he changed the subject abruptly, "So, are you going to find out if you're having a boy or a girl?"

She laughed and said, "I'm not even sure if it's possible at this early stage. I'll have to see when I talk to the doctor."

They talked companionably for the rest of the drive.

**The Island**

AJ went looking for Courtney. He had to hand it to Sonny, the man really knew how to give someone enough rope to hang himself. Or in this case, _herself_.

He found her, as usual, making doe eyes at Tommy. He rolled his eyes and watched for a few minutes without alerting them to his presence. She ran her fingers down the younger man's arm, looking up at him admiringly. Yep, she was definitely up to something, and the poor guard was oblivious. He didn't seem to see the hardness on Courtney's face, in her eyes. Her body language was manipulative, not adoring.

After a few minutes more, AJ cleared his throat. Tommy reddened and jumped back, stammering apologies and looking guilty. As he listened to the young fool, AJ watched Courtney, who looked irritated, and perhaps frustrated, but not even a little bit guilty.

When Tommy finally fell silent, AJ glanced at him and said blandly, "I'll see you inside in five minutes." It was clearly a dismissal, and Tommy, recognizing it as such, nodded and left.

AJ turned to Courtney, who by now had schooled her expression into something approximating hopefulness. She asked sweetly, "AJ, were you looking for me?"

He said cordially, "Yes, Courtney, I wanted to speak with you, if you have a moment."

"Of course, AJ." Courtney kept her voice sweet, and AJ wondered how she didn't gag on the saccharine quality it held. "I hope you didn't misinterpret what you saw just now …" AJ scoffed silently at that, but let her continue. "… he's just been a friendly ear since I've been here. I've been so lonely, away from my family and friends." She paused, gauging his response, but when he just watched her, she continued with a nervous laugh, "Anyway, I did say I wanted to try to get along, for the baby's sake, so talking for a few minutes seems like a good place to start."

"Good, I'm glad you feel that way," AJ said. "And your loneliness – your isolation here – is what I wanted to talk to you about. You know that Sonny never intended to send you away permanently, right?"

"Well, I hoped he didn't," Courtney said demurely, "But he was so mad at me when he sent me here that I wasn't really sure." She peeked up at him through her lashes, trying for a flirty look that, had she only known it, she was not nearly feminine enough to pull off. However, AJ kept his face and his voice impassive as he replied.

"Well, he really only sent you here in an attempt to give you a break to get your head together, and also to give me time to cool off. Now, he wouldn't have sent me here if he wasn't sure that I was past my anger with you, but really, he just was waiting to hear that you were past your anger, too, before he'd bring you home. If you want to go, that is," AJ added offhandedly.

"Really?" AJ suppressed the urge to roll his eyes, wondering how Courtney got through life. Her every thought was written all over her face – the calculating gleam of excitement in her eyes was a clear indication that she was buying this fiction completely, that she thought she had everything going the way she wanted it to. That she thought she had both AJ and Sonny fooled. Her excited anticipation was palpable as she asked, "We can go home?"

"Sure, if you want to. All Sonny really needed was for you to be willing to try to make this marriage work, and to do what's best for our baby. Now that you've agreed to that, there's no reason why we can't return to Port Charles, where we can have the support of both of our families as we start our new life."

"Can we leave today?"

He couldn't believe she was letting him see her impatience, but he said only, "No, tomorrow is the earliest, since we'll have to wait for Sonny to send the jet. Can you wait that long?"

"Of course, tomorrow is fine," she said. "I'm gonna go pack right now. Oh, I'm so excited!"

As she left, AJ shook his head, amused by how transparent she was. She was certainly in for a rude awakening when they got back to Port Charles. She would be wishing for the relative peace and freedom of the island by this time two days from now.

Sighing, he went to explain to Tommy that his services would no longer be needed, and that he should consider another line of work, and probably a new identity, if he wanted to enjoy a long, healthy life in another job.

**New York City**

Now that he knew that Maxie, and probably Elizabeth were in Port Charles, Lucky abandoned the Georgie angle completely. He rented a car and got on the road early, hoping he could catch up with Elizabeth that day, get everything straightened out, and get back to Seattle in time to keep his job.

Of course, they could be staying anywhere in Port Charles. He assumed they were probably staying with Steven and Emily – Emily's denials notwithstanding – but it was also possible that Elizabeth had used some of the cash she had obtained from their bank and credit cards to pay for a hotel room.

If only he could put out an APB.

His phone rang before he could think of any way to justify that – if nothing else, because she might get mad and be that much harder to win back if he did that. He glanced at the caller ID, and was relieved that at least this time, he had something solid to tell her.

Before he could speak, though, she said, "You moron! I thought you said she was definitely not staying with Steven and Emily? I just talked to them, and she's been there for days! You've wasted all this time chasing Georgie Jones around and getting arrested, and you could've had her back days ago."

"Sarah, calm down, okay? I already figured out that's where they are, and I'm already on the road. I should be there by the middle of the afternoon, and then we're back on track."

"Well, Lucky, considering how you keep screwing this up, I don't really trust you to work this out without more involvement from me. So I'm on my way to Port Charles, too. I'll be visiting Steven and Emily, and I want you to meet me so we can strategize. I'll let you know where and when once I make the arrangements."

"Okay, okay. I'll meet you whenever you want. Meanwhile, I'll get checked into a hotel and try to see her. Maybe it'll all be worked out before you even arrive."

"_No!_" she said emphatically. "I don't want you to go anywhere near Elizabeth until we've got our plan worked out. If you blow it this time, everything we've done will be for nothing. Elizabeth has always been a stubborn little brat, so if you push her the wrong way, we'll be done."

**Port Charles**

While Elizabeth was in with the doctor, two things came to Jason's attention, which, taken together led him to decide they should leave for New York immediately.

First, he realized that someone had been tailing him from the time he left his penthouse that morning. It had been gnawing at the edges of his consciousness – the sense that eyes were on him, that something was simply not right, but he realized what had caused the feeling when he saw a guy step off the elevator – the same guy he had noticed in the garage of the penthouse when he had gotten the SUV to pick up Elizabeth. Jason didn't believe in coincidence, and anyway, there was something on the man's face when he realized Jason was looking at him that told Jason that if coincidence _did _exist, this wasn't it.

He realized that whoever it was, they were working in teams, because there hadn't been any one car that was consistently behind him for the whole trip. They must have tag-teamed him somehow.

He wasn't sure why he was being tailed, however. Unless the feds were trying to get something on him or Sonny again. He quickly called Sonny to let him know to check for any new or increased surveillance, and then called Spinelli to get him working on finding out who was so interested in him at the moment.

Second, he received another call from his informant in New York. Apparently, Spencer had rented a car and headed north. The informant had arranged for some guys to tail the detective, and it seemed like he might be heading toward Port Charles.

Apparently, Lucky wasn't as attentive to the possibility of being tailed as Jason was.

Jason called Johnny to tell him that they should plan to leave for New York later today, and to arrange it with Spinelli and Maxie. He was about to call Sonny back to let him know about the new plan when Dr. Lee and a nurse came from Elizabeth's room. He figured that meant they were done, but although Dr. Lee headed to the desk, the nurse approached him instead. "We've finished the main part of the exam, and Miss Webber was wondering if you'd like to come in for the ultrasound?"

"Really?" Jason was momentarily stunned, but then he said, "Okay, sure, if she wants me to."

"Go on in, then. I'm just going to bring the portable ultrasound down, and the doctor and I will be back in shortly."

Jason tapped on the door and, when Elizabeth immediately called to come in, he peeked around the door. "Are you sure you want me here for this?"

"Yeah, sure, Jason. I just got to thinking that you didn't get to see the ultrasounds of … well, whatever children you might have out there, so I thought … well, I just figured it might be nice for you to get to see this one. I know it's not the same, but …"

He interrupted, sitting next to her and squeezing her hand. "It's wonderful. I appreciate you thinking of me." He glanced at her state of relative undress – she was wearing a hospital gown, with what looked like a lap blanket covering her bottom half, and ignored the way his pulse leaped into high gear. He asked as calmly as he could manage, "But are you sure you're comfortable with this?"

She blushed lightly and laughed. "Jason, it's fine, they're just gonna uncover my belly for this, so you won't even see as much as you would if I wore a swimsuit."

Unfortunately, his pulse increased even more. He didn't know what to say, but he was suddenly acutely aware for the first time that he had been largely ignoring a very real – and increasingly strong – attraction to this particular member of his family. He forced a laugh and said, "Okay, I just don't want you to feel uncomfortable."

"It's fine, Jason, really." She squeezed his hand. "Besides, this is the kind of thing that wouldn't be nearly as much fun without sharing it, so I'm really glad you're here."

He smiled, and fortunately, just then, the doctor bustled in. "Well, now, let's see what we see, shall we?"

* * *

Elizabeth was relieved that the doctor had come in. When she had impulsively asked the nurse to see if Jason wanted to come in for the ultrasound, she had forgotten how her hormones sent her pulse into orbit whenever she saw him. She would have thought she'd have gotten used to it by now, but she really hadn't.

And the discussion of her state of relative undress wasn't helping. There was just something intimate about a hospital gown.

The doctor squirted the cold gel on her belly, and they watched the screen as the image came somewhat into focus. Elizabeth thought it was fortunate that the doctor took the time to point everything out, because she wasn't sure she would have seen anything but a blur otherwise.

"Jason," she whispered, "Can you believe it? That's my baby!" This felt real in a way that was different from before. For the first time, her baby had an actual shape. Elizabeth would have a picture!

Jason asked, "Can you tell if it's a boy or a girl?"

Dr. Lee laughed. "Well, we might have been able to make a good guess, but the little one isn't cooperating – he or she is turned the wrong way and the legs are crossed, so I guess we'll have to wait until next time."

Elizabeth smiled at Jason and said, "I guess we will." He smiled back at her, and she felt all – melty – inside. She told herself to breathe and focus on what the doctor was saying until the feeling went away.

When the doctor was finished, Elizabeth kept looking at the printout of the ultrasound the doctor had given her. Jason said he'd wait outside while she changed, and slipped out. Elizabeth didn't get dressed right away, though, and instead spent a moment talking to the picture. "How am I gonna know what color to paint your room if you won't let us know what gender you are? And could you please stop with all the hormone rushes when Jason is around?"

Giggling at her own silliness, Elizabeth hurriedly got dressed and headed out to meet Jason.

* * *

"What do you _mean,_ he made you?" Jerry demanded. "I hired your team because you assured me that you would be so discreet he would never know you were there."

"I'm sorry, sir, but he shouldn't have noticed. We did everything the way we always do. It was just bad luck that he remembered me."

"How do you know? What did he say?"

"He didn't say anything. He didn't have to. It was in his eyes. I just knew he made me."

"Well," Jerry said, "You'd better come up with a new plan for how you're going to find out what I need to know, now that you've blown a perfectly good plan. The entire Corinthos organization will be alerted now. Did you find out anything useful at all? What exactly did he do today?"

"Well, he drove to his sister's house and talked to a guy who looked like he was guarding the house. Then that guy left, and Morgan went inside. He came out a few minutes later with a woman, who he drove to the hospital. It looked like she had an appointment with an ob/gyn. They must be close, because he went in for the end of the appointment."

"Was it his sister?"

"No, we have photos of everyone in his inner circle and it isn't any of them. This is one of the two houseguests at his sister's house. We're working on finding out who she is; we should have something soon."

"You'd better," Jerry warned. He hung up as Sam came into the room. "We may have a problem," he said.


	40. Chapter 39

_A/N: So sorry for the ultra-long delay. I've had big-time writer's block on this story. I stilll plan to finish it, but it's going very, very slowly at the moment. Hopefully, it will speed up soon. Anyway, thanks for your patience._

_The usual disclaimers still apply. And remember, feedback feeds the muse (when I can find her, anyway!)._

_

* * *

_**Chapter 39**

**Outside Port Charles**

"I can't believe how fast we left town!" Maxie said, sounding surprised but not particularly unhappy. "Last I heard, we still didn't even have Georgie's phone number yet. And you made me pack so fast, what if I forgot something?"

Her question wasn't addressed to anyone in particular, but Johnny, who was seated in the back between the two women, answered in a teasing tone. "Well, since you were planning to shop 'til you drop anyway, I don't see that it matters all that much if you did."

"Well, I want to shop for _fun _things, not necessities. I just know I forgot something critical, like my hair dryer or something."

"Maximista's hair dryer is an essential?" Spinelli asked curiously from the driver's seat.

"A hair dryer is as essential to Maxie as your laptop is to you," Johnny explained. Spinelli nodded at returned his attention to the road.

Maxie returned to the original subject. "I just don't see what the big rush was. Yesterday, it sounded like we were gonna take our time and get there when we get there. Suddenly, today, there's not even time to call Georgie before we head out. And I bet Elizabeth's getting hungry, too. You hustled us out so fast that we didn't get lunch."

"Maxie, I'm fine," Elizabeth protested.

But Jason said, "We'll stop at the next town and get something to eat." And as usual, that was that.

Elizabeth tuned out Johnny and Maxie's banter, as she was quickly becoming accustomed to doing, and admitted to herself that she was curious about the quick departure herself. They had barely had time to throw some things into a suitcase and say good-bye to Emily and Steven before they hit the road.

Now, she noticed that no one had actually answered Maxie's implied question. Her own best guess, considering how intent Jason always seemed on preventing anything upsetting her, was that Jason was concerned about Sarah's arrival, and so he had decided to whisk her out of town.

If that was the case, she had mixed feelings about it. On the one hand, she had no particular desire to see Sarah, now or at any time in the foreseeable future. The woman had taken every opportunity she had ever had to torture Elizabeth in one way or another, and try as she might, Elizabeth couldn't convince herself that Sarah might have changed.

On the other hand, she couldn't help worrying that Sarah would take advantage of her absence to undermine Elizabeth's fresh start with Steven. It would be just like Sarah to ruin this chance Elizabeth had to establish a real relationship with just one member of her family.

Of course, if she were honest, Elizabeth would admit that even if she was there, the same thing would likely happen if Sarah made any effort at all. That was simply the way it had always been. The way it would probably always be. Whenever anyone got to choose between Elizabeth and Sarah, Sarah always won.

_Except for Jason,_ she thought suddenly, and that realization made her smile, just a little.

Deciding not to worry about it for now, Elizabeth sighed and made a conscious effort to relax, leaning back against the headrest. Worrying wouldn't change anything, anyway, and she was determined to enjoy this little trip to a city she had always wanted to see. She couldn't wait to get to the art museums, and she had also planned an excursion into Chinatown and Little Italy.

On that happy thought, she yawned and closed her eyes, and instantly fell into a light sleep.

In the front seat, Jason was conscious of Elizabeth's worry. He kept half-turned in his seat and watched various expressions flit across her features. He wondered briefly at her tiny smile. He suspected she would confront him about the sudden rush to get out of town as soon as she got a chance to catch her breath. He would tell her the truth, of course, because there were already too many things he wasn't being entirely honest about, and he would just have to hope that she wasn't too upset.

Now, Jason was also aware of the moment she drifted off to sleep. Johnny and Maxie seemed thoroughly engrossed in each other, so Jason decided to let her rest a bit, and told Spinelli to wait a little while before stopping for lunch. He pulled out his phone and quietly checked to make sure Lucky was still heading toward Port Charles, and away from New York City.

* * *

Lucky stopped at a small diner on the outskirts of Port Charles. He had lunch, then sipped coffee as he debated whether to call Sarah.

Or maybe he should just show up at Emily and Steven's house and demand to see his wife. It would be hard for them to lie to his face, he was certain. And now that he was pretty sure of where Elizabeth was, he wanted to just hurry up and get things moving and get back to Seattle.

The sooner he got Elizabeth back, the sooner everything else would be back on track.

But he forced himself to be patient. Because even more than he wanted to get Elizabeth and go home, he wanted to keep Sarah happy.

And Sarah would not be the least bit happy if he went against her explicit instruction to stay away from Elizabeth until she had a chance to assess the situation.

So he sipped his coffee, and he waited for Sarah to call.

When his phone finally rang, it startled him and he jumped.

"Hello?" he said cautiously.

Sarah sounded seriously displeased when she said, "I just got here, and they tell me she just left! If you hadn't wasted so much time in New York, you would have had her back by now. How did I ever get hooked up with an idiot like you?"

"Hey!" Lucky protested. "Don't talk to me like I'm stupid. It's not my fault that she's being completely unlike herself."

"Yes, Lucky, it _is_. If you had just kept your pants zipped, she never would have left you, and we wouldn't have to go through all this crap just to get her back. We'd be that much closer to our goal by now."

"There's no guarantee of that," Lucky said petulantly. "Just because we were trying to get pregnant doesn't mean it would have worked. In fact, if it was gonna work, it probably would have by now, so I'm guessing we would have had to try something else."

"Yeah, it figures you'd be shooting blanks on top of everything else."

Lucky was getting angrier by the minute. This was _not_ all his fault. He said as much again and then added, "This was your stupid plan to begin with, Sarah. And now, I'm not even sure why I let you talk me into it."

"For the money, of course," she said baldly. "And because you would do anything for me and you know it. So stop whining and help me figure out what to do to fix this mess we're in."

"Fine, whatever." He made an effort to calm down. As much as he hated to admit it, she was right. He _would _do anything for her. Otherwise, he never would have agreed to this stupid plan in the first place. Finally, he asked in a resigned tone, "Where, exactly, did she go?"

"You're gonna hate this," Sarah began.

When she paused, he sighed and said, "Just tell me."

"She went to New York, with Emily's brother, and two of his friends, and Maxie Jones."

"_What?_" Lucky exploded. "I _leave_ New York and she _goes_ there? Dammit, this stupid plan of yours is cursed, Sarah."

"It's _not_ cursed," she snapped back. "We just ran into a few snags lately, that's all." Mercifully, she didn't say again that the problems were his fault.

After a short silence, he asked, "So I guess you want me to head back to New York now, huh?"

"Well, _I_ certainly can't go. It would seem awfully strange to Steven if I came all this way and then left after four hours."

He sighed. "It's gonna be a lot harder to find them in New York, especially since I can't go back to watching Georgie."

"Well, you better think of something quick, Lucky. Otherwise, we've wasted a lot of time and effort for nothing."

"Yeah, yeah, I know," he said. "I'll figure it out one way or another."

He disconnected the call before she could respond, even knowing he would pay for it later.

When the phone rang again moments later, he ignored it, not even checking to see if it was actually Sarah calling back.

He took his time finishing his coffee, considering what to do next. Eventually, deciding there was no point in racing off to New York, he ambled back to his rental car and headed into Port Charles.

**Port Charles**

"What do you mean, he's left town?" Jerry didn't bother to mask his displeasure. "Where did he go?"

"We don't know yet, Mr. Jax. We're working on it. All we know so far is that he left in an SUV with two men and two women, and they headed southeast."

"What two women?" Jerry asked impatiently. The men were probably guards and therefore unimportant.

"The two women who were staying with his sister."

"Have you learned their identities yet?"

"We're not a hundred percent certain, but it appears that one of them is Steven Webber's sister. Her name is Elizabeth Spencer, although she's going by Elizabeth Webber now. She's separated from her husband."

Jerry relaxed slightly at that news. Apparently a family member, not a girlfriend, then. Still, "What about the other woman?"

"She's there with Miss Webber. We don't have her name yet, but they appear to be close friends."

"All right." Jerry considered this for a moment, deciding what to do next. Finally, he said, "Keep an eye on them, and let me know where they go."

He hung up and went to find Sam.

* * *

Courtney couldn't contain her excitement as the plane touched down in Port Charles. Finally, she would get to see Jason. She could explain everything, and he would help her get rid of AJ and the stupid baby, and they would live happily ever after.

The only regret she had was that Tommy had been unwilling to come with them to Port Charles. He had insisted that Mr. Corinthos had hired him to work on a tropical island, not in a cold northern city, and part of the appeal of the job had been the lack of snow. She couldn't help thinking that she would have been able to talk him around if they hadn't been leaving so soon. But maybe not, since he had said that she should make an effort to get along with AJ for real, for her baby's sake.

In any event, Tony, rather than Tommy, had accompanied them on this trip. Tony, who had no use for her and showed no evidence of susceptibility to her wiles. Tony, who was unquestionably loyal to Sonny – so he would be no help in getting rid of her baby.

But he might help her get rid of AJ, she thought suddenly. Other than at her farce of a wedding, Sonny had never had any use at all for AJ, so maybe she would be able to convince Tony, or even Sonny, to help her get rid of _him_, at least.

Finally, after what seemed an eternity, they were allowed to deplane. They headed immediately for the limo Sonny had sent. Once they were settled and their luggage had been stowed in the trunk, Courtney decided to make conversation. "My apartment is really small. We'll be tripping over each other if we stay there together." Realizing suddenly that he could interpret that as a hint that he should stay elsewhere, she forced herself to add, "Maybe we should look for a bigger place. I wonder if Sonny knows of anything."

AJ smiled and said, "Don't worry, Courtney. We're going to visit Sonny now, so you can ask him for yourself."

"Now? We're going to see Sonny right now?"

"Apparently, he wants to see us right away."

"Oh," she said. "I wonder why."

He didn't answer, and after a moment, she looked out her window. She didn't see the look AJ and Tony exchanged.

* * *

Brenda stared at Sonny, "Courtney and AJ are coming here, now?" She couldn't imagine why he had allowed them to come back to town so soon. As far as she knew, he had never liked AJ, and ever since the night of Courtney's wedding, he always got a hard look on his face whenever he mentioned his sister.

"Yeah. Courtney was acting out on the island, so AJ and I worked out a plan to keep her in line, which will be easier to do if they're here."

"Acting out, how?" Brenda asked, unable to contain her curiosity.

He explained what he had heard from both AJ and Tony about her attempts to antagonize AJ and her refusal to behave appropriately for a pregnant woman, followed by her sudden about-face that neither AJ nor Tony believed to be sincere. Brenda asked, "So what plan did you and AJ come up with?"

"Are you sure you want to know?" Sonny asked, giving her a sharp look.

"What, you're not gonna whack her or anything?" she teased. At his raised eyebrow, she insisted, "If the point is to protect the baby, then you certainly can't hurt her, at least until the baby is born."

He smiled cagily, "No, what we're going to do is protect both Courtney and her baby from herself."

She frowned. "How are you gonna do that?"

"We'll explain her options to her, and then she'll either take the easy way, or the hard way," was all he said.

The knock on the door prevented further inquiry.

Max let Courtney, AJ, and Tony in, and Courtney hurried over to hug Sonny. She appeared not to notice that his answering hug was stiff and awkward, as she babbled about how thrilled she was to be back and half-apologized for her behavior the last time she had seen him. Brenda suppressed the urge to roll her eyes, then noticed an indecipherable silent communication pass among Tony, AJ, and Sonny.

Whatever that was about, Tony nodded once and left, pulling out his cell phone as he went, and AJ and Sonny both seemed to simultaneously relax. Courtney finally, _mercifully_, stopped talking, and an awkward silence fell over the room.

After a moment, Sonny crossed to AJ, shook his hand, and said, "Welcome home, AJ. How was the trip?"

"Very comfortable, thanks. We appreciate the use of the jet." Brenda watched Courtney, as she obviously was confused about the cordiality between the two men. When her face fell, Brenda deduced that Courtney had been counting on continued enmity between her brother and her husband.

Still, Brenda gave her credit for trying, although she was a terrible actress, when she said with false cheer, "Wow, I didn't realize you two were getting along these days."

Sonny hadn't yet said a single word directly to Courtney, but now he said, "I got no problem with AJ as long as he continues to step up and take care of his responsibilities."

"And Sonny's been great about helping me get on the right track with my new family," AJ added.

Courtney looked like she was going to be sick, Brenda thought. Her skin was so pale it was almost green, and her lips were pursed, the way they did reflexively when you sucked on a lemon.

"Wh-what do you mean?" Courtney asked warily.

Sonny said silkily, "Well, AJ was a little concerned about the mood swings you've been having lately, so he called me to see whether I thought there was reason to worry. I told him it was probably just normal pregnancy hormones combined with a bit of homesickness."

He paused, and AJ picked up where he had left off. "So Sonny suggested I bring you home, where your family can keep an eye on you. That way, we don't have to worry that it's anything more than pregnancy and homesickness." Courtney looked confused, but Brenda suddenly knew _exactly_ how they had decided to keep Courtney in line, even before Sonny spoke again.

"And of course, if it _is _more than that, well, in that case, the best treatment is available right here and we can get you the help you need right away."

Courtney still looked confused. "But – I don't need any help. What are you talking about? I'm fine."

AJ sighed. "Well, honey, you have to admit, your moods have been a little … erratic since I got to the island. We just want you and the baby to be safe."

Sonny jumped in again. "Yeah, we need to be sure that you aren't in the throes of some kind of illness that might lead you to harm your baby, or do anything else that you would never do if you were in your right mind." Brenda was amazed at how seamlessly Sonny and AJ were working together to explain things to Courtney. She had always been aware of how good Sonny was at making subtle threats, but AJ was truly a revelation.

He proved it as he took his turn again. "Exactly. And now that you're back home, with the people who know you best, you don't have to worry anymore. We're all gonna work together to make sure you don't do anything you might regret later."

"A-all?" Courtney asked faintly, apparently having belatedly become aware of the fact that AJ and Sonny were not just civil or friendly with each other – they were actually a united front against her.

Tony came back into the room, nodded once, and Sonny said, "Of course, Courtney. All of your family – me, AJ, Mike, Brenda, even Janine – are all gonna take good care of you. Oh, and of course, Tony will continue to be your personal guard. And when Tony's off duty, Max or Milo or Ritchie or Francis will fill in – only the best, most trustworthy of my personal guards will be entrusted with your safety."

Brenda almost smiled at the look of horror that briefly crossed Courtney's face. Apparently, she had at last realized how well and truly trapped she was. Courtney whispered, "Are you saying that I'm going to be a prisoner in my own home?"

"No, of course not, darling," AJ soothed, and Brenda was impressed with how sincere he sounded. "We're saying that, for your own safety, you will be with either a member of your loving family or one of Sonny's most trustworthy guards at all times, at least until the baby is born."

Sonny smiled cheerfully and added, "Exactly. Now, don't you feel fortunate to have such a loving family to take care of you?" He managed to sound like he was simply idly musing aloud as he continued, but Brenda heard it for the threat it was. "I mean, if you weren't grateful for such obvious concern and care for your welfare, then we might have to be concerned that there really is a problem that goes beyond pregnancy hormones, especially now that there's no more reason for you to feel homesick. In that case, I think Shadybrook is probably the best option – that way, you'd still be close enough for your family to visit you, but you could get the help you need."

Courtney didn't say anything at all to that. Instead, she collapsed in a dead faint.

It was fortunate, Brenda thought, that Tony was close enough to catch her before she hit the floor.


	41. Chapter 40

_A/N: I have to say, I'm surprised and thrilled at how many people are still interested in this fic after all this time! Thanks so much to everyone who has reviewed. It seems it really did inspire the muse to visit, and surprise! She was willing to work with me on a longer chapter than usual! :) And not only that, but we have the beginnings of a long overdue conversation between Jason and Elizabeth – one that I think you've all been waiting for. ;)_

_So, settle in, enjoy the read, and please let me know what you think!_

_(Of course, I'm still just borrowing characters that don't belong to me – I swear, when I'm done playing with them, I'll put them back, good as new! ;))_

_

* * *

_**Chapter 40**

**Port Charles**

Monica's cell phone rang as she stepped into the foyer late that evening after a long day at the hospital. She glanced at it and smiled, feeling revived suddenly as she answered. "AJ! How are you? Are you back already?"

"Hi, Mom!" She was pleased that his voice sounded cheerful. "Yeah, we just got back a little while ago, so I thought I would check in. Everything okay?" Pulling off her coat, she walked into the living room and draped it over the sofa's arm, then sat down.

"Yes, AJ, everything's fine, but I'd rather hear about you. How was your trip?" Alan came in and she smiled at him, mouthing 'AJ' as she listened to her son. Alan smiled back and gestured toward the phone, miming that he'd like to talk when she was done. She nodded.

AJ said, "The trip was … interesting, I guess. Courtney's not entirely thrilled with her situation, and she was initially pretty vocal about it, but I guess she's adjusting now. At least, she seems to have stopped blaming me and started focusing on the baby, which is good, I think."

"Oh, that _is_ good, AJ. I'm glad things are working out." She paused, then changed the subject. "Listen, I wasn't going to bother you about this since you were out of town anyway, but since you're back now, the hospital has a bone marrow drive coming up, and it would be great if you would participate. ELQ is sponsoring it, so the more of the family that participate, the better."

"Sure, Mom, you know I always try to support the family's causes."

"Yes, AJ, I do, and I want you to know that I appreciate it, even if your grandfather doesn't always." She changed the subject again. "Listen, your father wants to say hello, so I'm going to pass you over to him." Handing Alan the phone, she went to the sideboard to get a glass of water.

Alan said, "AJ, welcome back! Good to have you home, son. How was your trip?"

AJ laughed and said, "As I told Mom, it was interesting. Things seem to be settling down, I guess."

"That's good. I'm glad things are working out for you. You deserve it."

"Thanks, Dad. Listen, I gotta go. Courtney and I need to get settled in. I just wanted to check in with you guys and let you know I'm back. We'll try to stop in tomorrow, if that's okay."

"That would be great! In fact, why don't you and Courtney come for dinner? We'd love to get to know her a little better, now that she's part of the family."

"Sure, Dad, that sounds great. We'll see you tomorrow. Usual time?"

"Yes, the usual time."

They ended the call as Edward and Tracy came into the room, squabbling about something or other as usual. Monica said, "AJ and Courtney are coming to dinner tomorrow night, so if you two can't be on good behavior, please make other plans."

Edward smiled cagily. "Why on earth wouldn't we be on good behavior, Monica? If my grandson and his new wife, who's carrying my great-grandson, come to dinner, I couldn't be happier about it."

Tracy rolled her eyes. "Count me out. I'll go to the Metro Court or something. I don't want to watch Daddy fawning all over a drunkard and a mafia princess."

"Cut it out, Tracy," Monica snapped. "AJ's been sober since his wedding, so lay off."

"I already said I'd stay away, Monica. What more do you want?"

Alan said, "AJ is still your nephew. You could try being civil when you talk about him. And Courtney can't help who her brother is, any more than I can help who my sister is."

"Oh, whatever," Tracy said, sounding bored. "I think I'll go call Dillon. He's the only member of this family that I can tolerate." She left the room.

"Well, I, for one, can't wait to get to know my grandson's new bride," Edward said gleefully. "Maybe we should see if Emily and Steven want to come tomorrow night, too. Make a little celebration of it and welcome Courtney to the family properly."

"Good idea," agreed Alan. "I'll call her right now." He pulled out his cell phone and stepped to the corner of the room to make the call.

Monica decided to try to rein in Edward, though she knew the attempt would ultimately fail. "Edward, you _are_ aware that there's no guarantee this baby will want to run ELQ someday, aren't you?"

"Nonsense, Monica. With bloodlines like this, the child is certain to want power and plenty of it. We just need to channel that desire in the appropriate direction."

"No channeling, Edward. Not until the child is at least 18, if you want to keep living in _my_ house."

"Of course, Monica," Edward placated. "I just mean that we can make sure the child knows that there are _appropriate_ ways to gain power, not just the inappropriate ones that its maternal uncle uses."

Monica gave up, since she wasn't getting anywhere anyway. "Well, Edward, be that as it may," she said pointedly, "You've been warned."

"Yes, yes," he replied testily. "I don't know why you persist in thinking badly of me."

"_Experience_, Edward," she replied wryly. "Lots and lots of experience."

* * *

Across town, AJ went to inform Courtney of their dinner plans for the next evening. He found her dressing to go out. "What are you doing?" he asked cautiously.

"As you can see, I'm going out."

"At this hour?" he asked, keeping his tone neutral.

"_Yes_, at this hour," she replied, sounding irritated. "After that scene with Sonny, I'm too restless to sleep. I can't believe he threatened me with a mental hospital. I'm not crazy, AJ. I'm _not_," she said again at his raised eyebrow and pointed look at the high heeled shoes she was putting on. "I just need to get out for a while. And don't worry, I'm not gonna try to slip whatever guard is going with me, and I'm not gonna do anything to hurt the baby. I just need to get out. I need some time to myself. _Please_." Her voice really _was_ pleading, and for the first time, he actually believed she was sincere, or at least, as sincere as she was capable of being. Probably because she hadn't yet figured out a way around the restrictions Sonny was putting on her.

"Fine," he said. He decided to be more upfront with her than he had been since she had begun pretending to accept her situation. "But please don't push Sonny on this, Courtney. If you do, even if I want to protect you, I can't. And if you _did_ try to harm the baby, I don't think I'd even want to."

"I won't, AJ. I know when I'm beat."

"Okay, then. Don't stay out too late. You need your rest." He left the room, and missed the dark look she threw after him.

**New York City**

Elizabeth, too keyed up to sleep, nevertheless reclined in her bed in the penthouse suite at the luxurious midtown hotel Jason had checked them all into when they had arrived that afternoon. She didn't want to think about how much this trip must be costing him, but when she tried to chip in for the hotel, or at least talk him into a less expensive place, he wouldn't hear of it. He said he wanted some pampering, and where he stayed, they all stayed. She had wondered at the choking sounds she heard from Spinelli and Johnny, but when she looked at them, Johnny had nodded solemnly and said, "Jason _does _love his pampering. Always has. Must be a leftover from growing up in the lap of luxury."

She had looked at him suspiciously, because that just didn't seem like the Jason she knew – the one who had hung out in a diner for days on end and sometimes stayed out all night in his SUV. But she supposed she didn't know him all that well yet. She had caught Jason giving Johnny a dark look when she turned back to look at him again, though, so something seemed off. But, she supposed, there was no point in arguing. Whatever he did for a living, he certainly could afford all the luxury and pampering he wanted.

They had gone out for dinner, and when she had mentioned that she desperately wanted to see a Broadway show while they were in town, he had said he would see what tickets the concierge could get. Johnny and Spinelli had groaned, but Maxie had been excited. Elizabeth had reminded them that Johnny had only made her promise 'no opera,' not 'no musicals,' and she and Maxie had laughed at the put-upon look on his face.

Then she tried to let the men off the hook, saying maybe they could go to a hockey or basketball game while she and Maxie went to the show, but Jason had said they should all stick together. However, since Johnny and Spinelli had seemed pleased with the idea of sports, he had added that if they were good sports about Broadway, maybe they could all go to a game on a different night. Maxie had groaned, but Elizabeth thought it would be fun, so she had been pleased with the idea.

She loved the bustle and energy of New York already, and she wanted to pack as much of it into this trip as she could, because she doubted she would be back anytime soon. Even if things didn't work out in Port Charles as she hoped they would, she couldn't imagine raising a baby in this crowded, frenetic place. Of course, she knew that people did it all the time, but it just didn't suit her as a permanent home.

They had returned to the hotel after dinner, and had planned the next day's activities. First, Jason had insisted on a trip to the passport office. He said he had gotten an appointment for her while she had dozed in the car on the long drive, and she wondered if people usually got appointments that quickly. She hadn't argued, however, since she wanted to just get that part over with. Thinking about passports made her think about why Jason insisted she needed one, which made her think about Lucky. She would just as soon never think about Lucky again. Getting it over with on the first day would keep her from ruining her visit to the city with intrusive worries about her divorce or her soon-to-be ex-husband.

It occurred to her now that it seemed strange for Jason to bring her here when, the last she had heard, Lucky was here. Not that the odds against running into him weren't astronomical, but still, Jason always seemed overly cautious about that. The question suddenly seemed too important to wait until morning, so she got out of bed, pulled on a robe over her nightgown, and went into the living area of the suite.

He was still up, sitting alone and reading a travel book, and he glanced up when she came in. "Can't sleep?" he asked.

"No, I'm too keyed up. And anyway, I slept a lot in the car."

"Yeah," he answered simply. "Want me to read some of this to you? Maybe it'll give you more ideas for things you want to do while we're here." He patted the couch beside him invitingly.

She took the seat he offered, but replied. "Maybe in a minute. Actually, I wanted to ask you something."

"Okay," he said.

"Why _did _we come here so suddenly? No one ever said. And you seem really intent on keeping me away from Lucky, but last I heard, he was _here_. Which, I know the odds against running into him are astronomical, but still. I was thinking it was because Sarah was coming and you didn't want her to upset me, but then I realized, if Lucky really _was _here, you would never have brought me here, Sarah or no Sarah." She watched him closely, holding his gaze, willing him to tell her what was going on.

His eyes were steady when he said, "Right. I might have taken you somewhere else, but you're absolutely right, I wouldn't take you anywhere there was the slightest chance you could run into Lucky."

She thought about that for a minute, then finally looked away and said, "So you're saying that Lucky isn't here anymore."

It wasn't really a question, but he ducked his head to meet her gaze again and answered anyway, "No, he's not."

"Did he go home?" she asked. "I can't imagine that he can get a ton of time off work."

Jason said softly, "He didn't go home." He paused, took her hand, then said carefully, "He's actually heading toward Port Charles."

For the first time, Elizabeth felt a trickle of panic. She squeezed his hand tightly for a moment, then ruthlessly shoved the fear down and relaxed her grip. She asked, as evenly as she could manage, "He's not gonna go away, is he? He's gonna keep coming until he gets me back." She looked away again, because she didn't want Jason to see how close to tears she was.

He squeezed her hand and said, "Look at me, Elizabeth." He waited until she did, then he said with quiet certainty. "He will _never_ get you back. Not unless you decide, without any pressure from him or anyone else, that you want him back."

She shook her head. "I won't ever want him back, Jason, but you don't know him. He sometimes gets so …" She shook her head. "I don't even know how to describe it, really. He gets so there's no reasoning with him, you know? He just digs his heels in and doesn't let up until he gets what he wants." She laughed ironically. "How do you think I wound up pregnant? I _knew_ there was trouble in our marriage, even if I wasn't admitting it, and I _knew_ that we couldn't afford a baby, and I _knew_ it was a terrible idea, but he just wouldn't let it go. He just kept at me, for months and months and months, until he wore me down and I gave in just to get him to _shut up_ already. Not that I regret it, of course – I love this baby more than anything, you know? But it should have been my choice, too – not just his."

"About that, Elizabeth, there's something you should know, and I want you to promise to hear me out completely, even if you're really mad, okay?"

"Um, yeah, okay," she said, confused. What could she possibly be mad at Jason for? He had been her savior since practically the day she met him. He was her friend.

"Okay, first, I want you to understand two things. One, you're a lot stronger than you think. Look how far you've come. You're not the same person who used to let Lucky push you around, and I know, even if you don't, that you'll never let him do that to you again. For your baby's sake, if not for your own, you will _never again_ let Lucky or anyone else make you do anything you don't want to do."

"Okay," she said, feeling slightly less skeptical now. "What's the second thing?"

"Even though I know you _can_ handle Lucky, you won't ever _have to_ handle him again unless you decide you want to."

"I won't?" she asked. "Why not?"

"Because I'm at least as stubborn as Lucky, and when it comes to protecting people I care about, I'm twice as mean." He said it lightly, but there was an undercurrent of steel in his tone that made her sure he meant it.

She smiled. "I've noticed you can be a bit …heavy-handed about it, but I wouldn't say you're mean."

"You haven't seen me when someone I care about is actually threatened."

"True," she said. "But I still want to tell you that, as much as I appreciate that you're trying to protect me, I'd appreciate it more if you would tell me in advance what's going on. Like, you could have told us in the car that Lucky was heading to Port Charles. And I want you to let me decide what I want to face and what I want to avoid, okay?"

He sighed. "I'll try," he said. "But you have to understand, sometimes my instinct to protect you just shows up out of nowhere and I find myself doing things first and explaining them later. And it's not because I don't think you can handle it, but because I don't think you should have to handle it. Especially if I can protect you from it."

She smiled and hugged him impulsively. She said, "You have no idea what it means to me to have you in my corner. You have no idea how _safe_ I feel, knowing you're always looking out for me."

He hugged her back and said, "No matter what, I want you to always know that you can come to me for anything you need. I will _always_ do anything for you that I possibly can." He drew back and looked her in the eye. "And I want you to know that it's because of _you, _because of who you are. It's not just because you're family." He took a deep breath and let it out, then added, "It's also not because of what I'm about to tell you."

She frowned. "What do you mean? Whatever it is, just tell me. It can't be that bad."

He said, "Remember, you promised to hear me out."

"Yeah, okay, I know. Jason, you're scaring me. Just tell me already."

"Okay," he said. "I guess I should start with when I first met you."

"At the diner?" she asked.

"Yeah. I want you to know that when I first met you, I had no idea of what I'm about to tell you. I didn't figure it out until days later. And I also didn't know you were family until around the same time. So, when I first offered to help you get away from Lucky, and when I was giving you those huge tips, it was just because there was something about _you _that … called, I guess, for lack of a better way to describe it, to something in me. I felt … connected to you, from the very first day I sat down in Joe's Diner and asked for coffee. You know?"

She smiled at the memory. "I felt it, too, I think. I mean, I was more worried about what you thought of me after I had that argument with Lucky on the phone in front of everyone, than I was about what Lucky might do when I got home."

He smiled briefly, too. "For the record, I thought you were magnificent."

She grinned widely, now. "You did not. You thought I was crazy, just like everyone else did."

"No, really, I thought you were absolutely magnificent. And irresistible, too." She blushed lightly. He returned to the original topic. "Now, you know how I am with people I care about – you said it yourself, a minute ago – I get overprotective, and I can be heavy-handed about it. Right?"

"Right."

"So, keeping in mind that I already started to care about you from that first day in the diner, and that by the time you had that fight with Lucky on the phone, I was worried that you were trapped in a situation you couldn't get out of, you shouldn't be too surprised that I got a little overprotective of you already back then."

She thought about that. "I guess not, but Jason, what did you do?"

"Well, when I first went to Seattle, Johnny wasn't with me. He stayed in Port Charles, because for my plans regarding the sperm banks, I didn't need him with me. But then, I wanted to protect you, and I couldn't do it myself, and that's not really Spinelli's thing, either, so I called Johnny."

"You brought Johnny to Seattle to protect me?"

"Yeah."

She digested that. "What, exactly, was he supposed to do? Was he supposed to be my bodyguard?"

Jason looked uncomfortable, and he didn't answer directly. Instead, he said, "Well, in order to help you, I needed to know more about you. All I knew was your name, and your husband's name – his nickname, really – and that you had family you were estranged from and weren't sure you were gonna get in touch with. And that you were pregnant."

"Okay," she said. "So Johnny was supposed to … find out more about me?"

"Yeah," he said. "He was supposed to … investigate you."

"Investigate me? Johnny was supposed to investigate me?" Elizabeth's heart sped its pace.

"Yeah."

"_Did _Johnny investigate me?" She hoped against hope that Johnny hadn't investigated her.

"Yeah, he did." Jason watched her. After a moment, he said, "I know it was an invasion of your privacy, and if I hadn't been so worried about you, I never would have done it. I just needed to find a way to help you, and I didn't think you would tell me what was really going on, and I couldn't think of any other way to find out what I needed to know."

"Why are you telling me this now, Jason?"

"Because I don't like lying to you, even by omission." He took another breath and let it out slowly. "And there's more."

"More?" she asked, hearing her own voice rise. "You haven't even finished telling me what exactly Johnny did to investigate me, and now you're telling me there's more than that?"

"Yeah, there is," he said. He glanced away. "As part of his investigation, Johnny found some information."

"I would expect he did," she replied snidely. "My life is not exactly a state secret. What exactly did Johnny do to investigate me?"

"He followed you home."

"He followed me home? No, I would have noticed if someone followed me," she insisted.

"You didn't," Jason answered. "And it made Johnny worried about your safety, too. Especially considering the part of town where you lived."

"So he followed me home," she said, silently accepting that, considering her preoccupation with her pregnancy and her marriage, she might not have noticed Johnny following her. "Then what did he do?"

"He waited until you went out, and then … let himself into your apartment."

"He … _what_?" Her tone rose sharply, and, not wanting to wake the others, she forced herself to lower it as she continued. "He let himself into my _apartment_? He _broke in_?" She had a sudden flash of memory – she had passed Johnny in the hallway of her apartment building, probably as he was leaving her apartment. She moaned – no wonder he had looked familiar when she had actually met him. She forced her attention back to the present.

"Well, he picked the lock," Jason clarified. She glared at him.

"And what, exactly, did he _do _in my apartment?"

"He … looked around. Gathered information."

"He went through my stuff? Jason, tell me he didn't." She felt tears well up, trying to spill over. "He went through my private stuff?"

"I'm sorry, Elizabeth," and he sounded genuinely contrite, "but he really did go through your stuff. Don't blame him, though. He didn't like doing it, but I didn't give him a choice."

She sobbed harder. "He had a choice. He just chose to do what you wanted, like he always does."

"It's really not his fault, Elizabeth, it's mine."

"Oh, don't worry, Jason. I know _exactly_ whose fault this is."

He sighed. "I really am sorry, Elizabeth. I was really trying to help you, not to hurt you. And if Johnny had found anything other than what he found, you probably never would have known about it at all. You probably never would have seen me again, because I would have checked out your family, and if they were okay, I would have gotten you in touch with them and then you would have moved on with them, and probably never seen me again."

"But you found out – that I was Steven's sister." The implications of that hit her suddenly. "Oh, my God, Jason. It wasn't a coincidence that Emily called me, was it? _Was it?_"

He looked away and shook his head. "No, it wasn't. I called her and told her about the situation you were in, and she was horrified that you didn't feel like you could call her or Steven. If it's any consolation, she genuinely believed that it would be good for Steven to get to know you again. If you had worked up the nerve to call her on your own, you would have gotten the exact same welcome that you got this way."

"How do I know that?" she wailed. "How do I know that they didn't feel like they had to help me because you asked them to?"

"But you _do _know," he insisted, and she shook her head, denying it. "Think, Elizabeth," he urged. "Think about what you know of Emily, leaving aside everything but how she is – with you and with everyone else. Think about how Steven is with her. Think about it – remember what you said to me? About how loving they are, and how welcome they've made you? How Steven told you he's grateful to have another chance to develop a relationship with you? Do you honestly think that's because of anything I did or said?"

After a thinking about it for a moment, she realized he was probably right. Emily didn't seem capable of faking the welcome she had given to Elizabeth, so she shook her head, "I guess not. But, Jason, I don't really know what to think about anything right now. I just don't understand why you did this. And I really don't understand why you didn't tell me before. And I really, _really_ don't understand why you're telling me now." Realizing that she _did _believe that Emily and Steven really wanted her around had helped her calm down a bit, and she wiped the last of her tears from her eyes.

He said, "Even if you don't agree with it, I think you _do _understand why I did it. You know perfectly well that I'm overprotective where you're concerned." He paused. "I didn't tell you before because I wanted you to have a chance to know Emily and Steven a little bit first, because I was afraid if you didn't, you wouldn't believe that they really wanted you to stay in Port Charles – to be an active part of their family. I didn't want my actions to ruin your chance to be happy with your family."

That made sense, in a weird way, Elizabeth supposed. "Okay, fine, I can see that. I don't necessarily agree with your reasoning, but I can see where it would make sense to you. But why are you telling me now? I probably never would have found out – Johnny certainly wouldn't tell me, and Emily – well, she might eventually have told me, but she – maybe she would just think it all worked out fine, so what's the point?"

He said, "You're right, it's quite likely that you might not have ever found out – although Emily doesn't like lies, and she doesn't lie well, so she probably would have told you when the time seemed right to her. But the reason I told you now – well, I don't lie well, either, and I've actually tried to tell you the rest of it a couple of times already, but we got interrupted."

She let the comment about not lying well pass for the moment – in her eyes, that was debatable. She asked, "When?"

"The night you fell asleep in Indiana, and again when we were at the hospital making your doctor appointment."

She thought back. "You said you needed to tell me something …" She looked at him again. "When Maxie and Johnny came back, you were about to tell me something about … my baby's biological father?" she asked, perplexed, then continued before he could answer. "And when I fell asleep in Indiana, you were telling me …about you and Spinelli watching buildings. What does my baby's biological father have to do with you watching buildings?"

"You fell asleep while I was telling you why we were watching the buildings."

When he paused, she prompted, "Okay. Tell me again, now."

"The buildings we watched, in Bloomington, and Seattle, and in West Palm Beach, for that matter, were fertility clinics. We also watched a sperm bank in LA."

"Wait, you're telling me this relates to the sperm donations that you made before your accident? What does my baby – " Her eyes widened as she suddenly realized the obvious connection. She shook her head in denial. "No," she whispered. Then, more emphatically, "No! You're not telling me that you think you're the biological father of my baby! No, that's impossible! Coincidences like that just don't happen, Jason! They _don't!"_

"Apparently, they do, Elizabeth."

"How do you know? Tell me how you know," she demanded. "Did you break into the clinic, too?"

He shook his head. "We would have, but after Johnny investigated you, it was unnecessary. He found the file on your donor."

Light dawned, and she said, "He recognized the file as you?"

"No, he just photographed it. _I_ recognized it as sounding vaguely familiar. As you know, I don't remember that part of my life. I asked Spinelli, and he confirmed it."

"How did Spinelli know it was you?"

"When I first found out about the sperm donations, I asked Spinelli to find out what had happened to them. He somehow figured out which profile was mine – he said something about cross-matching medical histories or something – and then he traced the sperm sales, which is how we knew which fertility clinics had accepted delivery of them."

"So you're pretty sure you're the biological father of my baby," she said, feeling unnaturally calm. "I guess the question now is, what are you going to do about it?"


	42. Chapter 41

_A/N: Lookie, lookie! Three chapters in four weeks! Aren't you impressed? I can't thank you all enough for sticking with me on this story. I'm especially grateful to those who review so religiously – knowing that some of you are so into this fic really keeps me going. _

_We still have a ways to go, but I think some of your more important questions will be answered in the next few chapters …_

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* * *

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**Chapter 41**

**Port Charles**

Courtney stepped through the door and paused while her eyes adjusted to the dim lighting. She hadn't really wanted to come here, but, though she never understood why, she knew that this was one of the places Jason frequented. With Francis looming over her, she couldn't very well just drop by Jason's penthouse, so she figured this was her best bet. She really needed to talk to Jason.

Francis had paused behind her. He asked cautiously, "Are you sure you want to be here, Mrs. Quartermaine? I mean, you _do _know I can't let you drink, right?"

She glared at him. "Yes, Francis, I know I can't drink. But I _can _play pool and have a soda, can't I?"

"Yes, of course, Mrs. Quartermaine," Francis said hastily.

"You can come with me and make sure the bartender doesn't serve me alcohol, since I'm sure you won't just take my word for it. Other than that, you can watch from across the room."

"Okay, Mrs. Quartermaine."

They headed for the bar, where Courtney said flatly, "I'm pregnant, so I can't have any alcohol. Now, what kind of soda or juice do you have?"

"Well, just about anything you want," the bartender said. He was unfamiliar to her, so she figured he must be new.

"Okay, then, how about cranberry juice mixed with club soda?" She figured it wouldn't hurt to have Francis report back that she was drinking something with some actual nutritional value.

When she had her drink, she turned to survey the room. A lot of the regulars were sitting around in groups of two or three, but there was an unfamiliar man at the pool table, eying her with unconcealed interest. She was a little surprised that he wasn't warned off by the sheer size of her companion, but then, Francis had retreated to a far corner, where he sat with his back to the wall, watching the entire room. He had chosen the perfect location – he could see the entrance, the stairs, and the hallway to the restrooms from his vantage point.

Shrugging off her irritation at being watched so closely, she sauntered over to the pool table. "Wanna play?" she purred.

He shrugged. "Your boyfriend won't mind?" The man bobbed his head toward Francis. His phone rang, and he just glanced at it and hit "ignore."

She laughed. "He's not my boyfriend. He's not even my friend. And as long as you keep your hands to yourself, he won't care at all."

The man shrugged again. "Okay, rack 'em," he said.

* * *

Sarah paced her bedroom at Steven's. Lucky wasn't answering his phone, which had her worried. Usually, he was only too eager to talk to her, even if he had screwed up again and knew she would probably yell at him. But lately, he had started to get a little rebellious, in a passive-aggressive sort of way.

Like not always taking her calls, and not always doing what she told him to do. She just couldn't believe, considering how close they were to seeing the culmination of years of planning, that he was choosing _now_ to blow the whole thing.

The house phone rang, and she hurried down the hallway, hoping to hear who it was. If it was Elizabeth, maybe she could get a sense of when the little brat would be coming back to Port Charles.

Of course, Sarah had been saying all the right things to Steven and Emily, pretending to agree that the past was the past, and that it was time to move on and start over. But really, she was surprised Steven had believed her. Why would she want a relationship with the bane of her existence, who had ruined her life?

After a moment of listening, she realized that Emily was talking to one or another of the Quartermaines, so she slipped quietly back to her room and tried again to call Lucky.

"They checked into a hotel in Manhattan," Jerry announced without preamble when he finished his phone call.

"Manhattan? What on earth is he doing in Manhattan?" Sam asked petulantly. Then she suddenly brightened. "Maybe we should go to Manhattan, too."

Her hopes were dashed, however, when he said, "I don't think so. There's no telling what they're doing down there, and we want you to meet him when you can have his full attention. If you meet him while he's with his family, you won't."

"But won't it seem more coincidental if I meet him while he's away from home?"

"Have you forgotten that he's already investigating you? It won't seem coincidental either way, but it'll seem less forced if you've been here for weeks doing other things, while he's been gone and then returned."

She supposed he had a point, but Manhattan sounded like such a welcome break from Port Charles. "I'm getting bored here, Jerry. It's never good when I get bored. I tend to act out," she warned.

"Well, darling, I can think of any number of pleasurable distractions," Jerry said smoothly. "Many of them wouldn't require so much as leaving this room."

She rolled her eyes. "Do you think of nothing but sex?"

He laughed. "Sex, money, power. It's all the same to me," he said. "And based on your irritable tone, I'd say you're hungry. Why don't we have room service send up a snack? Unless you'd prefer to go up to the restaurant?"

She couldn't deny she was hungry, but the thought of going to the restaurant after the scene the Quartermaines had made the last time she had done so made her shudder.

"Order me a milkshake," she said peevishly. "And some French fries."

"Certainly, darling. Whatever you like."

**New York City**

Maxie woke up to the sound of voices in the living room. She glanced at the clock, wondering who could be up at this hour. She got out of bed and went over to the door. As she started to open it, she heard Elizabeth say in a strangely calm tone, "So you're pretty sure you're the biological father of my baby. I guess the question now is, what are you going to do about it?"

Maxie gasped, then quietly shut the door and stepped back. Who was she talking to? As far as she knew, Elizabeth had only met Jason, Johnny, and Spinelli a month ago, just before they left Seattle. She realized suddenly that Elizabeth had never really said that Lucky was the father. She had assumed he was, of course, because Elizabeth just wasn't the type to cheat on her husband.

Dying of curiosity, Maxie went back to the door, intending to open it just enough to hear what was going on. After all, how could she help her best friend if she didn't know what was happening?

With her hand on the knob, though, she paused. Elizabeth _was_ her best friend, and she seemed to trust Maxie. Having never had a friend trust her before, she was discovering she kind of liked it. And she had a feeling that Elizabeth wouldn't like it if she eavesdropped on a private conversation, no matter how curious she was.

Sighing, she forced herself to step away from the door. _Being good sucks_, she thought grumpily as she got back into bed. Then she brightened. M_aybe she'll tell me what's going on if I ask her_.

On that thought, she lay back down and tried to go back to sleep.

* * *

In the living room, Elizabeth's question seemed to hang in the air between them. After a long time, Jason finally said, "I guess that depends on you."

"What do you mean, that depends on me? You have to have some idea what you want to do, Jason. You've had ages to process this."

He sighed. "Elizabeth, it's not really up to me. It's up to you."

"Why is it up to me?"

"Because you didn't sign on to have a father for your baby. You signed on to have a sperm donor with no paternal rights."

"But, Jason, can you even live with the idea of not knowing your biological child? And if you can, why did you start looking for where the sperm went in the first place?"

"I didn't look for them to claim them, necessarily. Just to make sure they're all right. Your baby is fine, and with you for a mother, and Steven and Emily and their kids for a family, he or she will continue to be fine, with or without me."

"Are you saying you _don't_ want to be part of the baby's life?"

He sighed again. "No, I'm not saying that at all, Elizabeth. I'm saying that I want whatever you want."

"No, you're saying that you'll go along with whatever I want. As far as I can tell, you're working really hard to not say what you actually want." When he started to protest, she held up a hand. "Okay, fine, you want whatever I want. Well, then, what I want right now is for you to tell me what you want. If you could have your choice, what would you want?"

Jason suddenly knew what he had been trying not to admit he wanted, but he ruthlessly forced himself not to say it. She definitely wasn't ready to hear it right now. Instead, he hedged, "Honestly, Elizabeth, I didn't really expect you to ask me that, so I haven't really thought about what I want. I just figured I would do whatever you wanted, and it's easier to do that if I don't know that I really want something else." She didn't say anything, so he added, "Look, you've had a lot dumped on you tonight, and it's late. And you don't have to decide anything right away – the baby isn't due for months."

"_We _don't have to decide anything right away," she said. When he looked at her questioningly, she clarified. "You're _not_ dumping this whole decision on me, Jason Morgan. If you really are the baby's biological father, we're going to decide _together_ what the best thing to do is, for the baby. Not for me or for you or for anyone else. For the baby."

He had to suppress a smile at her ferocity. She was such a great mother. "Okay," he said simply. "Now get some sleep, okay?"

Elizabeth stood and said. "Okay. But don't think you're off the hook. I'm still mad at you, and I have to figure out if I can trust you anymore. And I'll tell you this, Jason: no more lies, no more secrets, no more hiding things. If there's anything else I don't know, you better tell me now."

Jason hesitated a second, wondering if she would count his business as something she should know about. He stood and said, "I've told you everything I've done or been involved in that has to do with you."

She looked at him oddly, but apparently decided not to challenge his careful wording. "Okay, then. Good night."

"Good night."

Watching her leave the room, Jason thought that had gone much better than he had expected. She had been angry, yes, but he had known she would be. The important thing was that she was still speaking to him – that she hadn't immediately run and left behind everything she was just starting to establish.

Sighing, he stretched out on the couch and thought about whether he would ever tell her that what he really wanted was to marry her and raise their child together, as a family.

* * *

Elizabeth let herself into the bedroom quietly and made her way to her bed in the darkness. Maxie's voice startled her.

"Elizabeth, are you okay?"

"Yeah, Maxie, I'm okay. I'm sorry I woke you. Go back to sleep."

"Okay, but you know you can talk to me about anything, right?"

"Yeah, I know," Elizabeth said tiredly. Then she realized, "Maxie, did you overhear my conversation with Jason?"

"Well, no, not exactly," Maxie said earnestly, sitting up. A sliver of moonlight illuminated her face. "I heard voices, and I went to see what was going on, and I heard you say something, but that made me realize it was a private conversation, so I closed the door and came back to bed. I didn't even know who you were talking to until you just said it was Jason."

Elizabeth got into bed and leaned against the headboard. "What did you hear me say?"

"Something about him being your baby's father. Which, frankly, made no sense to me since you just met him. Although it would explain why you don't seem to be in any hurry to tell Lucky. But then, you would never cheat on Lucky even if you _did_ know Jason then, so I'm just completely confused. But if you don't want to tell me, you don't have to."

Elizabeth laughed in spite of herself. "It's okay, I'll tell you. Basically, Lucky is sterile, so I had to use a sperm donor, and it turns out that it looks like Jason was the donor I used. Which seems like an awfully big coincidence, but he seems pretty sure."

"Oh, wow," Maxie breathed. "That's a lot, isn't it? Are you okay?"

Suddenly smiling, Elizabeth said, "You know what? I think I am. I really think I am. I mean, if you look at it a certain way, it means that the father of my baby is someone that I know and like, and anyway, I have a whole new life with my family, and I have a new best friend, who managed to not listen at the door even though she must have been dying of curiosity. When you think of it, things could be a whole lot worse, couldn't they?"

"Yeah, I guess they could. And I'm glad you realize that I was dying to know. Aren't you impressed that I just _asked_ you, though?" Maxie sounded proud.

"Yeah, I am," Elizabeth said, giggling now. After a moment, she grew serious and said, "Let's promise to be honest with each other, no matter what, okay?"

"Okay," Maxie agreed solemnly. "No matter what."

Settling herself under the covers, Elizabeth wished Maxie good night and finally relaxed into sleep.

**Port Charles**

Francis watched Courtney from his seat in the corner. She was flirting with a man he had never seen before, who was slowly and steadily getting himself completely drunk. He had already discreetly checked around, and no one knew the guy except the bartender, who said he had arrived today, was passing through, and had rented a room upstairs for the next couple of days.

He couldn't hear the conversation, but Courtney looked like she was enjoying herself, and he had double-checked with the bartender to be sure that she was really still drinking non-alcoholic drinks. She was.

The guy looked like a bit of a loser, Francis mused. And he obviously didn't know who Courtney was, or he probably wouldn't be getting quite so friendly with her. Unless, of course, he _did_ know who Courtney was, and that was _why_ he was getting friendly.

Francis frowned at the thought. Normally, he wouldn't be worried at all about a guy like this, but two things made him less than pleased with the situation. First, the guy was drunk and didn't seem to know his own limits, which made him unpredictable. And unpredictable was definitely bad.

And second, the guy kept ignoring phone calls. This wouldn't bother Francis if he knew who the guy was, and who was calling, but he didn't. It was one thing if it was a disgruntled girlfriend or wife or something, but what if things weren't as they appeared? What if he was actually from a rival family, and was looking to get at Sonny through Courtney?

Francis knew it was unlikely, but he couldn't discount the possibility completely. Sighing, he decided it was time to call for reinforcements. Since Johnny was out of town with Jason, he called Max.

Out of the corner of her eye, Courtney saw Francis making a phone call. _Great,_ she thought. _Now I'll have two of them watching me._ Too bad this "Lucky" character was getting so flirty with her. Now that he was drunk, he seemed to have forgotten that Francis was even there, or that she had told him not to get too friendly.

But what he was telling her was sort of interesting, so she flirted back, just a little, and didn't protest when he put his hands on her hips to help her line up her next shot. "Anyway," he was saying, his words only slightly slurred, "So Sarah's all mad at me now, 'cause she thinks that I'm blowing the plan, when we're almost there. Which I'm not! I mean, it's not _my_ fault Elizabeth didn't get pregnant, is it?"

Actually, Courtney thought maybe it was, although she supposed it _could_ be the little wifey's fault, since they hadn't had any better luck with a sperm donor, according to Lucky. She was a little surprised he was telling her all this, but maybe she would be able to blackmail him into helping her with her own problems. So she kept on murmuring sympathetically and nudging him to continue whenever he paused.

"No, I'm sure it's not your fault," Courtney said sweetly, patting his cheek gently. "But, just to be sure I've got this straight, your wife left you and came to Port Charles …why?"

"'Cause her family lives here," he muttered. "I mean, I didn't know right away 'cause they never liked her and didn't even really talk to her once we got married, and they said she wasn't here. But then her friend used her credit card here, and then Sarah called them and they said she was visiting, so she's here. But now Emily's brother took her to New York, Sarah says, and she wants me to go back to New York, but I just got here, and anyway, if she's with Emily's brother, she'll be back, won't she? And it'll be a lot easier to find her here than in New York anyway, and I can talk to her then and straighten everything out, you know?"

"Yeah, of course," she said approvingly. "And who's Sarah again?"

"My girlfriend. Lizabeth's sister."

"Wait, your girlfriend is your wife's sister? Wow!" she said, unable to contain her surprise.

"It's not like that," Lucky said. "Not really. I was with Sarah before I got married, which I only did because Sarah made me."

"Your girlfriend made you marry her sister? And her sister went along with it?"

"Lizabeth didn't know," Lucky said firmly. "Sarah said we should break up and I should marry Lizabeth, so I did. But now she ran away and Sarah's mad, 'cause we won't get the money if Lizabeth doesn't have my baby."

"What money?" asked Courtney.

"The money Lizabeth's grandmother left in her will."

"She left money to Elizabeth?"

"No, to Lizabeth's _baby_," Lucky said emphatically.

He looked suspicious, so Courtney cooed sympathetically, "Ohhhhhhh, you poor boy. Sarah's being awfully hard on you, isn't she?"

"Yeah," Lucky said petulantly.

"So do you know where Elizabeth's family lives?"

"Yeah, I looked it up," he said, proudly. Courtney resisted the urge to roll her eyes. "And anyway, they're doctors, so I could always go to the hospital and see them there."

Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Max enter. Just as she had thought, Francis had called someone to keep watch with him. Just what did he think she was going to do, anyway? And didn't he think he could handle one drunken idiot? Or that _she_ could?

"Oh, really?" she asked. "Maybe I know them. What are their names?"

"Steven Webber and Emily Quartermaine Webber."

Courtney swayed with shock, grabbing the pool table for support. This drunken nitwit was related to Steven? Which meant that, with AJ back at her tiny apartment where she had left him, the "Emily's brother" who took the wife to New York had to be Jason! She had come here hoping to see him, and he wasn't even in town!

Suddenly, Courtney had to get out of there. This information might prove useful, eventually, but she was too disappointed right now to figure out how. Putting down her pool cue, she said, "Listen, Lucky, I have to go. Maybe I'll see you around, okay?"

"'kay," he answered absently, not even noticing her changed demeanor or that she hadn't said whether she knew Steven and Emily or not.

She gestured to Francis and Max, then headed for the door, with the two guards hot on her heels.


	43. Chapter 42

**Chapter 42**

**Port Charles**

The next morning, Lucky woke up groaning at the pounding in his head. Rolling over, he tried to remember what had happened the night before. He remembered renting the room at Jake's, which, thankfully, seemed to be his current location.

He had gone down to the bar to get dinner, and had stayed to play some pool and have a few beers. A few had turned into a few more, and at some point, that blonde chick – Kelly? Candy? Something like that, anyway– had come in and joined him at the pool table.

He remembered chatting idly with her while they played pool – about Seattle, and about coming to Port Charles to look for his wife. About the woman's – Callie? Carrie? – recent marriage, and her honeymoon on some island in the Caribbean. He remembered ignoring call after call from Sarah. Then …

Nothing.

He didn't remember a single thing after the third game of pool. Not who won, not what they had talked about, not when either one of them had left, not how he had gotten to his room. Nothing at all.

Frowning, he wondered how many calls, exactly, he had ignored from Sarah. Even as he had the thought, his cell phone rang again. Groaning, he found it in the pocket of the jeans he had discarded on the floor next to the bed, but it stopped ringing before he could answer it.

Which was probably a good thing, he thought, suddenly realizing that he was in no condition to talk to Sarah right now. His stomach heaved suddenly, and he raced for the bathroom.

He doubted he'd even be ready to consider calling Sarah back for the rest of the day.

* * *

"You're quiet this morning," AJ said as he scrambled some eggs. "Did you have a good time last night?"

"What?" Courtney asked from her seat at the tiny kitchen table, where she was sipping tea and thinking about everything she had learned from Lucky last night. "Oh, yeah, it was fine." She couldn't quite figure out what to do with the information, although she was sure there was some way to use it to her advantage.

"What did you do?"

"Didn't Francis and Max tell you?" she asked tiredly, wishing he would leave her alone. Instead, he sat down and put a plate with scrambled eggs and toast in front of each of them.

"No, they didn't," AJ said, digging into his breakfast. "They wouldn't, unless you did something that put you or the baby at risk. Which I'm assuming you didn't, since they haven't said a word."

"No," she said, "I didn't." She saw no reason not to tell him, so she said, "I went to Jake's and shot some pool." Absently, she began eating, too, and was surprised to discover he made a pretty good breakfast.

"Oh," he said. "That's nice. I didn't know you enjoyed playing pool."

"There's a lot you don't know about me, AJ." Realizing that that sounded waspish, which wouldn't result in increased freedom for herself, she said, "Sorry. I didn't get enough sleep, and I'm tired."

They ate in silence for a while, and then, when they were done, he stood and took her plate to the sink. As he washed the dishes, he spoke casually, picking up the conversation where they had left off. "Well, I'm glad you had a good time, anyway. Get some rest today. We're having dinner with my family tonight."

"We're – what?" Courtney was startled. "Do we have to?"

"Why not? They'd like a chance to get to know you. They're my family, and now they're your family, too."

She sighed. "Okay, fine. Do they know about … everything?"

"They know you're pregnant, but they don't know Sonny forced you to marry me, or any of that."

Suddenly realizing that this was going to make the evening a lot easier for her, when he could have gone out of his way to make it difficult, she said, "Oh. Thank you for that."

"You're welcome." He paused, then said softly, "I know you wish things were different, Courtney, but I want you to know that I don't want to be your enemy. I won't be, unless you force me to be."

She stared at him, not sure what to make of that. "I know," she said at last. "And I appreciate it."

After another long moment, he said, "Listen, I'm gonna get out of your hair for a while – go check in at the office, get caught up on messages and that sort of thing. Call my cell phone if you need anything. Otherwise, I'll be back around 6, and we'll head over to my parents' then. Please get some rest, okay? And have a good day."

"Yeah, okay," she said distractedly.

She was so lost in thought that she didn't even hear the door close behind him.

* * *

Sonny was getting off the phone when Brenda came downstairs. Noticing his frown, she asked, "What's up? Or is it business?"

"No, it's – Jason told Elizabeth about the baby and how he found out."

"Ohhhhhhh," Brenda breathed. "How did she take it?"

"It was a mixed bag, I gather," Sonny replied. "She was definitely mad about Johnny breaking into her apartment, but the rest of it – well, at the end, she asked him what he wants to do."

"And let me guess, he told her he would do whatever she wants him to do."

He laughed. "Ya got that right."

She grinned, "Well, I know Jason, don't I?"

"Yeah, you do."

"So what did she say she wants?" Brenda asked, curious.

"She said she wants to know what he wants, and then they'll sit down together and figure out what's best for the baby."

"Ohhhhh, I knew she liked him an awful lot," Brenda said. She clapped her hands gleefully as a thought occurred to her. "Maybe they'll get married! Maybe this whole thing was fate!"

Sonny stared at her. "You're not gonna believe this," he said.

"What? They're engaged already?" she asked excitedly.

"No, no. Slow down."

"What then?"

"Okay, but before I tell you – you _have_ to stay out of this, Brenda. Let them figure it out on their own."

"Okay, okay. Just tell me already."

"When I asked him what he wants, he said he wants to marry her."

"He said that? He actually said that? In those exact words?"

"Well, his exact words were, 'I don't know if I can tell her that I want to get married and raise our baby together.' Is that close enough for you?"

"Ohmigod, I have to call Emily!" She started to hunt for her cell phone, but he stopped her.

"No, you _don't_ have to call Emily. You can't tell her this, because if you do, it'll get back to Elizabeth, and, at best, she'll be mad that he didn't tell her himself."

She deflated. "You're right, you're right. I know you're right. But how am I gonna keep quiet about this? It's so – exciting! So romantic! So sweet! So perfect!"

"Yeah, whatever," Sonny said. "Just please don't tell anyone! I knew I shouldn't tell you …" He shook his head.

"Okay, I'll be good, I promise." At his raised eyebrow, she said, "I will, I swear."

Adela came running downstairs, effectively ending their discussion. "Daddy, can I have pancakes for breakfast?" she asked as she threw herself into Sonny's arms.

"Let's go see what we have, Princess." As he carried her to the kitchen, he shot Brenda another warning look.

She smiled back innocently, then sat down to think about how to help Jason win Elizabeth without letting on to anyone that she was doing any such thing.

**New York City**

Jason wasn't sure what to expect from Elizabeth the next morning, but he thought it only fair to warn Johnny – and Spinelli, for that matter – that she knew pretty much everything about what they had been doing in the past several weeks. That way, they wouldn't be surprised if she treated them differently for a while. She wasn't the type to hold a grudge, or at least he didn't think she was, but it could be awkward for a few days.

So, before Elizabeth and Maxie came out of their bedroom, he said quietly to his friends, "I told Elizabeth about our investigation of her and that I'm probably her baby's father."

"How'd she take it?" Johnny asked. "Does she want to kill me, or what?"

"She's a little mad at you, but mostly at me, I think."

"Is the Fair Maternal One angry with The Jackal, as well?" Spinelli asked.

"Not as far as I know," Jason said. "She feels like Johnny and I invaded her privacy."

"Because we did," Johnny pointed out helpfully.

"But Spinelli didn't," Jason said, glaring at Johnny.

"I'm surprised you didn't send me back to Port Charles, and have someone else come down. Francis, maybe."

"I considered it, but she already told me she doesn't want me deciding for her what she should face and what she should avoid."

"Oh." Johnny considered that. "Well, I'll take it as a hopeful sign that she didn't immediately demand never to be forced to see me again."

The door to the women's bedroom opened and Maxie strolled out. "Elizabeth's almost ready to go, but she wants to talk to Johnny first." Johnny didn't move right away, and Maxie said, "Go ahead, Johnny, go see her. She's fully dressed – she's just putting on her makeup." Johnny shrugged and headed into the bedroom, and Maxie asked Jason, "Do we have time to get some food on our way to the passport agency?"

Jason said, "Yeah, we can get something downstairs." He was curious about what Elizabeth wanted to say to Johnny, but he tried to stay focused on his own conversation. "We don't have to be there for more than an hour, and it'll only take about 10 minutes to get there."

"Okay, good." The three fell silent, staring at the bedroom door, which Johnny had closed behind him.

Behind the door, Elizabeth stared at Johnny for a long moment without saying anything. She wasn't purposely trying to make him uncomfortable; she just didn't know exactly what she wanted to say to him now that he was here. She could feel herself blushing slightly, embarrassed that he had seen things that weren't meant for public consumption.

Finally, he broke the silence. "Jason told me you know about the investigation in Seattle."

"I assumed he would have," she replied. "What I want to know, I guess, is what you have to say for yourself."

His words came out in a rush. "I'm really sorry about invading your privacy. I felt bad about it while I was doing it, but Jason said it was to help you, so I just kind of did it. I know you're probably really mad about it, but I promise, I've forgotten most of it already anyway. I mean, I don't want you to think I enjoyed going through your stuff, and if it helps any, the only thing I thought about you that was even a tiny bit negative was that you had terrible taste in husbands. And I remember I was really glad you didn't keep a diary, because I wouldn't want to look at anything that personal."

She was shaking her head, "But you would have, wouldn't you? If I had kept a diary, you would have read the whole thing."

"I don't know," Johnny said. "It didn't come up, so I don't know."

"I already know you looked through my files, since you found the donor file. Did you look through my closets? My drawers? Was there anything you didn't look at?"

"No," he said sheepishly. "There wasn't anything I didn't look at. I had to be thorough if Jason was gonna be able to help you."

"Johnny, do you even _get_ that this was totally the wrong thing to do, no matter what reasons Jason had? I'm really disappointed in you, Johnny. I thought you were becoming my friend, when all the time, I guess I'm just a job to you, after all."

"No, Elizabeth, that's not true. I like you. I liked you even before I got into your apartment."

Elizabeth narrowed her eyes. "What do you mean, _before_? _When_ before?"

Johnny shrugged. "When I heard you arguing with Jason about your tip, and he seemed so happy about it. Jason is my friend as well as my boss, and the thing is, Jason doesn't really seem happy with anyone else like he does with you. And he seemed so worried about you, so as much as I didn't like invading your space, I just figured it would help keep you safe, which seemed like a good enough reason to do it anyway."

She sighed. "Okay, I can understand your reasoning, sort of, even though I don't agree with it. But Johnny, don't do anything like that again. If you want to know something about me, just ask me. I'm actually not a very secretive person., you know."

"I know that now, Elizabeth. I hope we're still friends," he said, sounding both worried and hopeful.

"As long as you respect my privacy, we're okay," she replied. "If you don't do that, we won't be." Dropping her lipstick into her purse, she snapped it shut and said, "Now, let's go get breakfast. I'm starving." She linked her arm through his and waited for him to open the door.

They found three pairs of eyes staring at them. Elizabeth said, "Time to eat. Let's go."

And they did.

* * *

After they got Elizabeth's passport, they called Georgie, who agreed to meet them for lunch at a little place she knew in Chinatown. They arrived at the restaurant a few minutes early, and as soon as they were seated, Maxie said, "Okay, who's going to tell me what's going on?"

Everyone stared for a minute, seemingly unsure what to say.

"What could the Fair Blonde One mean?" Spinelli said. "Nothing is going on, except that we're waiting for the Fair Blonde One's sibling to arrive before partaking of a noon repast."

"Don't give me that, Spinelli." She looked from one to another of them pointedly. "_Everyone_ is acting weird. Elizabeth and Jason keep giving each other weird looks instead of whispering secret conversations all the time. And Elizabeth and Johnny have _never_ had a secret conversation before, but they did this morning. And I thought Spinelli was constitutionally incapable of being quiet for more than five minutes, but _he's_ barely said two words all morning. So I repeat, _what's going on_? Is Lucky around?"

The four of them looked at each other, and Elizabeth finally said, "Sorry, Maxie, we didn't mean to make you uncomfortable."

"Then _stop doing it,_ and tell me what's going on," Maxie insisted.

"Who's going to tell her?" Elizabeth asked the three men, almost cheerfully.

"Don't _you _want to tell her?" Jason asked cautiously.

"Oh, she already knows my part," Elizabeth said. "I told her last night that you're probably the sperm donor who fathered my baby. But that's not what's made everything awkward with us this morning. Not really. That part is all yours and Johnny's, isn't it?"

Johnny said, "I'll tell you, Maxie."

But Jason shook his head. "It's mainly my doing, so I'll tell her."

"I don't care which one of you tells me. Just tell me already."

As always, Johnny deferred to Jason, which Maxie supposed was because of the boss-subordinate thing. Jason said, "The reason it's awkward is because Elizabeth is upset with me and Johnny because when we were in Seattle, I told Johnny to investigate Elizabeth, and he did. Spinelli's just uncomfortable because he knows Elizabeth is mad at us."

Maxie narrowed her eyes, homing in on the important part. "What do you mean, 'investigate'? What exactly did Johnny do?"

"I followed her home and snooped around her apartment," Johnny confessed.

"In my private things," Elizabeth added pointedly.

"But it was my fault," Jason insisted. "He did it on my orders."

"Well, why did you order him to do it?" Maxie asked.

Jason shrugged, unused to explaining himself. He said, "Does it matter?"

"In one way, no," Maxie said. "It was a stupid thing to do, whatever the reason, and I'd be mad at you if you did that to me for any reason. _However_," she continued emphatically, "depending on the reason, it might be forgivable. Which I'm guessing Elizabeth thinks it is, since we're still here with you. If she had thought it was _completely_ unforgivable, she probably would have dragged me out of here in your SUV last night."

Elizabeth laughed. "Maxie, don't ever let anyone convince you that you aren't smart, okay? You read people so well, and you're so good at piecing things together and coming up with the right answer!" Maxie smiled at the compliment, trying not to let on how touched she was. No one ever told her she was smart. Georgie was the smart one, not Maxie. Maxie had always been the pretty one, and the screwup, and it felt really good to have someone think she was smart and could be counted on to be honest. Elizabeth, realizing that the men didn't seem sure what to say, continued after a moment, "Okay, here it is. When Jason and I first met, he was a customer at the diner where I was waitressing, and he heard me arguing with Lucky on the phone. He says he was worried about me, so he called Johnny to come investigate me in order to figure out how to help me."

"Really?" Maxie asked, looking first at Johnny, then Jason for confirmation. When each nodded in turn, she said, "Well, that's really sweet. Really stupid, but also really sweet. I can see where Elizabeth might be able to forgive that. As long as neither one of you ever does anything that stupid again," she added sternly.

"We won't," Johnny promised.

"I already told Elizabeth, no more secrets," Jason added.

"Well, if you do anything like that again," Maxie said, "You won't just be dealing with Elizabeth. You'll be dealing with me, and I'm not as nice as Elizabeth is. The only reason you get a pass this time is because Elizabeth seems to want to forgive you. I'll go along with that, this time. But don't do it again."

Any response they might have made was prevented by Georgie's arrival. "Maxie!" she called, hurrying over to give her sister a hug.

"Georgie! I'm so excited to see you! I've missed you!"

"I've missed you, too!" Georgie replied. "But what are you doing in New York?"

"I came with my friends," Maxie said. "This is my best friend, Elizabeth, and this is Jason, Johnny, and Spinelli. Jason's sister is married to Elizabeth's brother. They live in Port Charles, upstate, and Elizabeth wanted to move closer to her family, so I came along to help, figuring I could use the excuse to visit you. And then Elizabeth needed a new passport, so we decided to take a road trip. Everyone, this is Georgie."

"Well, I'm really glad you're here. And I'm really glad to meet you all."

Everyone exchanged greetings, although Spinelli seemed even more tongue-tied than usual, and Maxie was amused to notice him staring raptly at Georgie. It was kind of funny to her that, just when someone was seeing Maxie as smart, someone else was seeing Georgie as beautiful. It just seemed appropriate, somehow.

She settled in to enjoy her lunch with her sister and her friends.

**Port Charles**

Sarah was getting frantic. She still hadn't reached Lucky, and it was now more than 24 hours since she had last spoken to him. What if something had happened, and he was dead? All her plans would be for nothing.

She tried to calm down, telling herself that of course Lucky was fine. She would have heard something if he weren't. Someone would have picked up his phone at some point and told her what was going on if he was injured or worse. Wouldn't they?

Maybe she should call the Seattle PD. They would certainly have been notified if something had happened to him. What was his partner's name, again? Something Latino, she thought. If she calmed down, it would probably come to her.

But how would she explain herself? Maybe she could pretend to be Elizabeth. But maybe, probably, his partner had spoken to Elizabeth on the phone at some point, and he might recognize that her voice really didn't sound anything like Elizabeth's.

Cruz! That was it – his partner's name was Cruz. Should she call him, or not? Lucky was probably fine, after all, and who knew what she might give away? On the other hand, she was driving herself crazy, and was having a harder and harder time keeping Emily and Steven from noticing. Already, they had been looking at her oddly all afternoon, and Emily had even asked if she was okay once. She had said that she was restless because she hadn't slept well, due to jet lag, but that excuse wouldn't work for very long.

She had retreated to her room, ostensibly to nap, but here she was, pacing again. To call or not to call?

Before she could decide, the phone finally rang. It was Lucky, and in the space of an instant, her fear turned to fury.

"Where the hell are you, Lucky? And why the hell haven't you called me?"


	44. Chapter 43

_A/N: Oops, just realized that though I posted this at my site 3 days ago, I forgot to post it here. My bad. Sorry! Enjoy!_

**Chapter 43**

**Port Charles**

"Could you _please_ keep it down?" Lucky asked irritably. Sarah's shrill tone was making his headache return, just when it had finally started to abate. "I feel like hell, and I haven't called because I knew you'd be shouting at me."

Mercifully, she lowered her voice, but he could still hear the annoyance that he suspected she wasn't really trying to hide. "Well, what the _hell_ is going on? And what's wrong with you, anyway?"

"I have a hangover," Lucky admitted, very quietly, then held the phone away from his ear for what he knew was coming. Sure enough, he had no trouble hearing her, even with the phone held at arm's length.

"A _hangover_?" she asked, her voice rising again. "You have a _hangover_? We're at a critical point for our whole entire plan, involving _years_ of work, and instead of staying focused, you get _drunk_?"

Even though she had a point, he said, "Are you done? 'Cause if you're gonna keep shouting, I'm hanging up."

"Don't you _dare_," Sarah threatened. "I have every right to be angry, and you know it."

"Yes, you do," Lucky acknowledged, but he felt just crappy enough that he seemed unable to keep from pointing out her role in things, too. "Of course, if you would treat me with just a little more respect, maybe I wouldn't get frustrated and need a few drinks to help me relax."

"Don't you dare blame this on me, Lucky. Maybe, if you acted like an adult instead of a spoiled child, I would treat you with a little more respect."

"Whatever, Sarah," Lucky said, hating the defensiveness in his own voice. "Anyway, we should get together and figure out our next move."

He realized his mistake when her voice, low and deadly, came back at him. "What do you mean, get together, Lucky? You're supposed to be in New York, not anywhere that we could get together."

"I decided not to go to New York," he said. "And before you get mad, just think for a minute. She's with Emily's brother, you said. And when I thought about it, I realized he was probably one of those guys, the ones who helped her move out. The ones who beat me up in Seattle, remember?" He had told Sarah that more than one guy had beat him up, rather than admitting that it was just one guy, and only a couple of punches. "They aren't gonna let me anywhere near her. So the best I could hope for in New York is that I would get beat up again. Here, they'll be more relaxed about protecting her, and I'll be able to get close to her when no one's paying attention." Or at least, he hoped so.

"I hope you're right," Sarah said. "But what if they don't come back until after you have to be in Seattle?"

"I can always see if any jobs are available here," Lucky pointed out. "Hell, if she's so keen on getting to know her family, it'll probably make her think I'm really trying to impress her. And then, once we get the money, I won't need a job, anyway."

"Well, whatever. Since you're here, I guess we should meet. But it has to be somewhere that no one we know will see us."

"Well, I'm renting a room above a dive bar, and I doubt Emily or Steven ever comes here. Not high class enough. You could come here."

"Okay, I guess that'll work," Sarah said. "Where is it?"

"It's called Jake's, and it's down near the docks. You should take a cab – I'm not sure how good an area this is at night. I'll wait for you in the bar."

"Okay, fine," Sarah said. "I'm not sure what time it will be – I gotta figure out an excuse, or else I have to wait 'til everyone else is asleep."

"Whenever you get here, I'll be waiting," Lucky said.

* * *

"When are they coming back?" Sam asked for the fifth time that day.

"I have no idea, darling. They'll come back whenever they come back, and not a moment earlier," Jerry replied patiently.

"I'm bored, Jerry."

"Well, I have something planned for us to do tomorrow," he said.

"Like what?" she asked suspiciously.

"Like take you for a prenatal appointment."

"I just saw the doctor, after I fainted at the reception."

"That was an emergency appointment, not a regular, complete checkup," Jerry said. "And you need to be taking care of yourself if we're going to use the baby to reel in Mr. Morgan."

"Yeah, yeah, I know."

"And, of course," he added slyly, "Having medical bills piling up that you can't pay will certainly encourage him to start offering some cash …"

"Oh, okay, whatever," Sam said. "Fine. What time is the stupid appointment, anyway?"

"Eleven o'clock," Jerry replied. "So you'll have plenty of time to get your beauty rest."

"Well, what are we going to do for the rest of today?" Sam asked. "I'm bored _now_."

"Why don't we go out to dinner?" he asked. "You've been cooped up awhile, now, and we'll go someplace where there won't be likely to be any Quartermaines hanging about."

"Okay, fine," Sam said. "But if we do run into them, you better not let them insult me again, Jerry. And you really better not insult me yourself," she added, glaring at him.

"Darling," he laughed. "I wouldn't dream of it."

"What should I wear?" she asked, not challenging him on that dubious assertion.

"Why don't we shop?" he said. "That'll cheer you up."

She looked at him suspiciously for a moment, then went to get her coat.

**New York City**

They had thoroughly enjoyed their afternoon in New York. After having lunch with Georgie, they had spent the afternoon exploring Chinatown and nearby Little Italy, shopping and snacking all the way. Georgie, who had needed to go to an afternoon lab, had promised to meet them again later, much to Spinelli's delight. He had been waxing poetic, in his own way, since the moment she had left.

Now that Jason and Johnny's various misdeeds were out in the open, their banter quickly returned to normal, with Johnny teasing Maxie about the trinkets she insisted on purchasing; Jason and Elizabeth squabbling mildly about how he kept trying to feed her or make her stop and rest; and Spinelli babbling about whatever sights they were seeing as he googled them on his iPhone.

Midway through the afternoon, Jason's phone rang, and he stepped out of the store they were in to take the call. It was his informant, and the man got right to the point. "He's in your town – Port Charles. Been here since last night. He's got a room in a dive called Jake's. Last night, he got trashed while he played pool with a blonde chick. No sign of him today 'til just now – musta been sleeping off the hangover. He just came down to eat."

"You know anything about the blonde?" Jason asked, wondering if the woman had known Spencer before, and if so, how.

"Not much. They didn't seem to know each other, but she sure kept him talking. She had a coupla goons with her when she left."

"Goons?" Jason asked.

"Looked like pros – bodyguards, like she was connected, maybe, so maybe you know her."

"You don't happen to know where she went when she left, do you?" Jason could think of only one blonde in Port Charles who would have guards, and last he heard, she was on her 'honeymoon' at the Island.

"Nah, but it would be easy enough to find out who it was if you want me to."

Jason thought a minute, then decided not to risk tipping anyone off. "Let me check with my people first. Call me in two hours and I'll let you know if I want you to ask around then."

"Okay, you got it."

"Stay with him, for now," Jason added. "And let me know if he meets up with anyone else."

They hung up, and Jason thought for a minute. It didn't make any sense – there had to be something Jason was missing. Some vital fact still hadn't made itself known to him, and until it did, he would just have to focus on what he _could_ do – keep Lucky away from Elizabeth and get her a divorce as fast as possible.

Sighing, he punched in Sonny's number.

**Port Charles**

Sonny answered on the second ring. "What's up, Jason? I didn't expect to hear from you again today. Is Elizabeth still mad at you?"

"No, she doesn't seem to be, although I'm on notice from both her and Maxie. That's not why I'm calling, though."

Sonny was pleased to hear that Elizabeth was getting past her anger at Jason, and he was amused at how fiercely protective Maxie was of her friend. He said, "Okay, what's up?"

Jason's question came as a shock. "Are Courtney and AJ back in town?"

Sonny frowned, unsure why Jason would care. "Yeah, they got back yesterday. Why?"

"Because it sounds like she was at Jake's last night, playing pool with Elizabeth's husband."

"You're kidding." Sonny's tone was flat. He wondered if she had snuck out, in which case he would have no choice but to make good his threat and institutionalize her. He hated the idea that she would put him in that position. Still, "What makes you think it was her and not someone else?"

"She was described as a blonde who had two guards with her when she left. The guards were described as professional-looking. Are there any other blondes in Port Charles who we'd be guarding? Or who _anyone_ would be guarding?"

"Not that I know of," Sonny said, relaxing marginally as he realized that she hadn't snuck out, and he wouldn't have to hospitalize her – at least not today.

"And you would know," Jason said.

It was a statement, not a question, but Sonny replied anyway. "Yeah, I would." He thought about it, then said, "Let me just double check with AJ and her guards, though."

"AJ? You think he'll tell you?"

"Yeah, I think he will," Sonny said. "He needs my help to make sure Courtney doesn't do anything crazy to hurt his baby, so we're allies, at least for the moment. And, anyway, if he doesn't tell me, her guards will."

"Okay, thanks, Sonny."

"Anytime, Jason."

The men hung up, and Sonny immediately called AJ.

"AJ, do you know where Courtney went last night?" Sonny asked, as soon as AJ answered.

"She said she went to Jake's and shot some pool. Why? Francis and Max didn't mention her drinking or anything, did they?"

"Nah, they didn't say anything to me, and they would have if she had done anything risky."

"Oh, good," AJ replied, sounding relieved. "I've been trying to get her thinking of me as on her side, or at least as something other than her enemy, so I didn't question her too closely." He paused. "Look, if you want to know anything more about it, I could ask her, I guess."

"Nah," Sonny said. "It's not that important. I just heard she was there, and I wanted to make sure she didn't sneak out or anything. If Francis and Max were with her, just leave things be."

AJ agreed, and they hung up. Just to be safe, though, Sonny called Francis next. When the guard answered, he asked, "I hear you were with Courtney at Jake's last night."

"Yeah, boss," Francis said. "I didn't mention it because she stuck to cranberry juice with club soda all night, and she was never in any real danger."

"Well, I assumed you would have mentioned it if she were drinking. Don't worry, I know you had everything handled or you would have called me. I was surprised to hear Max was there, too, though."

Francis answered the implied question. "Yeah, well, she was shooting pool with a guy who was getting himself drunk, and you know how unpredictable drunks are. I figured, if he caused trouble, one of us could hustle her out of there while the other one detained him."

"Good thinking." His tendency to plan ahead in situations like that was what made Francis so valuable to Sonny. Along with his absolute loyalty, of course. "What do you know about the drunk?"

"Bartender said he was passing through town, arrived yesterday afternoon, and was renting a room upstairs. Seemed like kind of a loser, if you want my personal opinion."

"I do," Sonny assured him. "Anything else about him?"

"He sure talked a lot. I couldn't hear what he was saying, but from where I sat, it kinda looked like Courtney was trying to keep him talking."

"What makes you say that?" Sonny asked.

"It looked to me like she was actively encouraging him in the drinking, and she was sometimes just a little bit – flirty, I guess – and it seemed like that was mostly whenever he stopped talking."

_Interesting_, Sonny thought as he hung up. He wondered what his sister might be up to now.

**New York**

After Sonny called him back to tell him what AJ and Francis had said, Jason tried to decide what it all meant, and what, if anything, he should do about it. There had to be something he was missing.

Jake's wasn't a place that Courtney liked to hang out, even when they were sleeping together. She usually went there only if she was … _looking for him_, he realized suddenly. So maybe she still hadn't accepted that he was never again going to want her, even as a booty call. But how did Lucky Spencer fit in? What could the man possibly be telling her that she would have any interest in?

He couldn't imagine. After several minutes, he finally decided that if there was more to it than her wanting him back and being bored enough to pass time with a drunken loser, he would find out soon enough.

So, when his informant called back, he reiterated his previous instructions. "Just let me know if the same woman comes back, or if he meets up with anyone else."

"Sure thing, boss."

**Port Charles**

Courtney was nervous.

She was surprised to discover that she actually cared about making a good impression on the Quartermaine family. She wouldn't have thought it would matter to her one way or the other, but it did, for some reason. Maybe because, whether Jason liked it or not, this was _his _family, too.

She had dressed carefully for this dinner party, in a basic, yet good quality, black dress, and the pearls that Sonny had given her for her last birthday. Now, she was pacing back and forth anxiously as she waited for AJ to get home. He had said he would be home at 6, and it was nearly that now. Being late to this first real meeting would not start things off right.

She continued pacing, and worrying over why she cared. Especially since they were certain to hate her once she got rid of their anticipated heir-apparent. AJ finally arrived at 6:10, and she asked, "We aren't going to be late, are we?"

He smiled reassuringly. "No, we're fine. Just let me change, and we'll head out." He headed for the bedroom, and she followed him, unsure what else to do. He looked surprised to find she had hung the few clothes he had brought over in the closet. He turned, saw her standing in the doorway, watching him. "Thank you for hanging my things up," he said. "I didn't expect you to do that."

She blushed a little, not sure herself why she had done that. "You made me breakfast," she said, "and I got bored, so …"

He smiled and said, "Anyway, it was a nice thing to do. Thank you."

She looked away. "Um, you're welcome." She turned to go back into the living room.

"Did you get some rest?" he asked.

"Yeah, I napped for a while," she said. "I feel much better."

"Good," he replied. He started to undress, and she fled the room, as though she had never seen him less than fully clothed before.

Moments later, he came out of the bedroom wearing a pair of khakis and a sports jacket, but no tie. "Don't you want to wear a tie?" she asked.

"Nah, it won't be that formal," he replied. As if noticing her outfit for the first time, he said, "You look nice, though."

"Thanks," she replied. "Is it too much?"

"No, as my grandmother used to say, a woman can never go wrong with a little black dress and pearls." He smiled and said, "Let's go."

He helped her on with her coat, then took her hand and led her out to his car.


End file.
